U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRI^ftptjRE. 

BUREAU  OF  ENTOMOLOGY— BULLETl/ jfc>s{ 


L.  O.  HOWARD,  Entomo 


MISCELLANEOUS  RESULTS 

Sfeirf*^/   \  OF  THE 

WORK  OF  THE  BUREAl]  OF  ENTOMOLOGY. 


VIII. 


PREPARED  UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF  THE  EN«^M£lItOOIST. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING 
19  05 


OFFICE. 


BUREAU  OF  ENTOMOLOGY. 


L.  O.  Howard,  Entomologist  and  Chief  of  Bureau. 

C.  L.  Marlatt,  in  charge  of  c.vpcvinicntul  field  irovk. 
F.  H.  Chittenden,  in  charge  of  breeding  experiments1. 
A.  D.  Hopkins,  in  charge  of  forest  insect  in  rest  if/at  ions. 
W.  D.  Hunter,  ip  charge  of  cottoii  insect  investigations. 
Frank  Benton,  in  charge  of  apicult a ral  investigations. 

F.  M.  Webster,  in  charge  of  field-crop  insect  in  ccsligntions. 

A.  L.  Quaintance,  in  charge  of  deciduous-fruit  insect  investigations. 

E.  A.  Sghwarz,  D.  W.  Coqlillett,  Th.  Tergande,  Nathan  Banks,  Assistant 

Entomologists. 
R.  S.  Clifton,  Chief  Clerk. 

E.  S.  G.  Titus,  F.  C.  Pratt,  August  Busck,  Otto  Heidemann,  A.  N.  Caudell. 

R.  P.  Currie,  J.  G.  Sanders,  F.  D.  Couden,  Assistants. 
R.  C.  Althouse,  W.  F,  Tastet,  Mary  G.  Champney,  A.  J.  Leister,  E,  C.  Wood, 

T.  A.  Keleher,  Jessie  E.  Marks,  Stenographers  and  Clerks, 
Lillian  L.  Howenstein,  Artist. 
Mabel  Colcord.  Librarian. 

W.  E.  Hinds.  A.  W.  Morrill,  Springer  Goes,  J.  C.  Crawford,  W.  A.  Hooker, 
W.  W.  Y others,  A-  C.  Morgan,  W.  D.  Pierce,  F.  C.  Bishopp,  C.  R.  Jones, 
Wilmon  Newell.  E.  C.  Sanborn.  E.  S.  Hardy,  R.  C.  Howell,  engaged  in 
cotton  insect  investigations. 

J.  L.  Webb,  H.  E.  Burke,  W.  F.  Fiske,  J,  F.  Strauss,  engaged  in  forest  insect 
'  investigations.'  .  ~~ 

J.  M.  Rankin,  Leslie  Martin,  E.  F.  Phillips',  in  apicultural  in  rest  i- 

g<i  ti<  nis. 

G.  I.  Reeves,  W.  J.  Phillips,  engaged  in  field-crop  insect  investigations. 

Fred.  Johnson,  A.  A.  Girault,  J.  IT.-  Beattie,  engaged  in  deciduous-fruit  insect 
investigations. 

C.  J.  Gilliss,  W.  A.  Kelehee,  Marie  Key,  Mrs.  Jennie  Locke,  engaged  in  silk 

investigations. 
E.  R.  Sasscer,  Student  Assistant. 


U.  S.  DKPARTMKNT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

BUREAU  OF  ENTOMOLOGY- BULLETIN  No.  54. 

L.  O.  HOWARD,  Entomologist. 


SO  M  K 


MISCELLANEOUS  RESULTS 


OF  TIIK 


WORK  OF  Till:  BUREAU  OF  I-XT(>M0L<m;Y 


viii. 


PREPARED  UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF  THE  ENTOMOLOGIST. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT   PRINTING  OFFICE. 
19  05 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/aneouOOunit 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 


(J.  s.  Department  of  A.gkiculture, 

III  BEAU  OW  ENTOMOLOGY, 

Washington,  P.  C,  May  /. 
Sir:  I  have  tho  lionor  to  transmit  herewith  the  manuscripts  of  sev- 
eral articles  and  shorter  note-,  none  of  which  arc  of  such  a  nature  as 
to  justify  their  publication  at  this  time  in  separate  form.  The  matter 
presented  is  similar  to  thai  which  has  been  published  in  seven  earlier 
bulletins,  and  I  recommend  its  publication  under  the  title  "Miscella- 
neous Results  of  the  Work  of  the  Bureau  of  Entomology — VI 1 1." 
as  Bulletin  54  of  this  Bureau.  The  initial  article  on  the  sugar-cane 
beetle  Is  a  report  of  an  investigation  conducted  during  L904,  which 
was  made  necessary  by  the  fact  thai  the  insed  in  question  had  received 
praci  LCally  no  attention  at  the  hands  of  entomologists  for  a  quarter  of 
a  century.  The  suggestion  as  to  remedies  will,  it  is  hoped,  be  found 
useful  to  Bugar  planters  of  the  South.  The  report  on  "  Cohchuela,"  a 
cotton  pesl  of  Mexico,  contain-  an  account  of  investigations  conducted 
because  of  an  unusual  outbreak  during  the  year,  which  afforded  the 
possibility  <>f  a  thorough  study  of  1 1 1 i >  insect.  It  may  be  in  time  a 
dangerous  enemy  to  cotton  cultivation  in  Texas,  and  possibly  in  other 
near-by  State-  in  which  it  also  occurs.  The  sugar-beet  crown  borer 
has  not  previously  been  detected  injuring  sugar  beet  or  other  useful 
plants.  The  dock  false-worm,  considered  in  the  next  article,  is  also 
new  as  a  pest,  as  is  the  pepper  weevil,  so  far  a>  regards  published  rec- 
ords. Everything  points  to  the  accidental  introduction  of  the  weevil 
from  Mexico.  The  article  on  cold  storage  for  COWpeas  is  of  value  for 
obvious  reasons,  one  of  which  is  that  the  experiments  reported  have 
been  conducted  over  a  considerable  period  and  the  cost  of  this  method 
of  treating  seeds  has  been  definitely  ascertained;  it  is  also  shown  that 
the  vitality  of  the  seed  is  not  injured  by  treatment.  The  larger  canna 
leaf-roller  and  pond-lily  leaf-beetle  have  been  unusually  destructive 
during  the  year,  and  have  not  previously  been  treated  in  any  publica- 
tions of  this  Department.  The  report  on  the  grasshopper  conditions 
of  the  Wesl  -how  -  that  grasshoppers  have  been,  on  the  whole,  very 
much  less  destructive  during  the  year  L904  than  is  usual.    It  also 

(3) 


4 


demonstrates  the  value  of  remedies,  which  are  more  effective  when 
the  insects  are  not  overabundant,  and  should  then  be  practiced  as 
a  means  of  limiting  injurious  occurrences  in  the  immediate  future. 
The  article  entitled  "  Collective  Notes  on  the  Behavior  of  the  Colo- 
rado Potato  Beetle  in  Great  Britain"  indicates  that  this  Ameri- 
can insect  does  not  now  exist  in  England,  but  that  it  is  capable  of 
flourishing  to  a  remarkable  degree  on  the  Continent.  Some  interest- 
ing facts  in  regard  to  the  use  of  hydrocyanic-acid  gas  as  a  remedy  for 
indoor  insects  have  been  gained  during  the  year,  a  portion  of  which 
are  embodied  in  an  article  and  a  note  in  this  series.  During  the  year 
Mr.  Frederick  Maskew,  of  California,  has  cooperated  with  this  office 
in  several  investigations,  two  of  which  are  made  public — one  on  the 
subject  of  Fuller's  rose  beetle  and  the  other  on  the  success  of  an  intro- 
duced ladybird  beetle.  Among  general  notes  are  short  accounts  of  a 
very  injurious  caterpillar  enemy  of  velvet  bean  in  Florida,  an  instance 
of  the  complete  destruction  of  the  imported  cabbage  worm  by  para- 
sites, and  other  notes  of  minor  interest. 

Respectfully,  L.  O.  Howard, 

Entomologist  and  Chief  of  Bureau} 

Hon.  James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 


C  ( I  X  T  E  X  T  S . 


Page. 

Thk  S('(iAK-<  ANE  Beetle  (Liai/nts  rufficepa  Lee),  with  Notks  on  Asso- 
ciated Species  (illustrated)   K.  S.  (!.  Titus  7 

BbPOET  on  a  MEXICAN  Cotton  Pest,  the  "  Conchuela  "  (Pvnttttomtt 

Hgota&kj)  (illustrated)     ..-1.  W.  Morrill  18 

Thk  Sr<  J  a  r-heet  (  'kown-ikikkk  (Hn/stra  it  lalulateUa  Clemens)  (illus- 
trated)    E.  S.  O.  Titus. .  34 

Thk  Dock  False -woum  (Tu.rmuis  n i(jrismiiu  Nort.  i,  F.  II.  Chittenden  and 

P.  8.  (1.  Titus.  40 

Thk  Pkppkb  Wkkvm.  [Anthonomtu  oeneotinchu  Champ.)  (illustrated). 

C.  M.  Walker  43 

Cold  BlOBAOl  for  COWPEAS  (illustrated)  ../.  W.  T.  hunt  49 

Thk  Lakokk  ('anna  Lkat-ROLLEB  [Calpodes  ethliue  Cram. )  (illustrated). 

F.  If.  ( fhUtenden  .  54 
Thk  Pond-uly  Lk  a  k-ukktlk  (CkderueeUa  nymphceat  Linn.)  (illustrated). 

F.  ll.  (  %ittenden  .  58 

GRASSHOPPER  (  'ONDITIONS  IN  Nf.HRASKA.  NORTHl  VSTI  KN  (  'oLORADO,  WYO- 
MING. Montana,  and  Wkstkrv  Kansas  diking  thk  Simmkr  OF  1 904. 

Lawrence  Bruner  60 

COLLECTIVE  NoTES  ON  THK  BkHAVIoR  oK  THK  CoLoRADO  PoTATO  BKKTLK 

in  Great  Britain   Fred.  V.  Theobald  65 

An  EXPERIMENT  with  HtdROOTAMIO-AjOID  Gas  as  a  Rkmkdv  FOB  thk 
Cigarette  Bkbtlb  in  Dwellings    F.  ll.  Chittenden  and  F.  C.  Pratt  68 

Notks  on  Filler's  Rosk  Bebtli  in  L904.   Fdk.  Masketo..  70 

The   Giant  Sugar-Cank  Borkr    {Castnia    licua   Fab.)  (illustrated). 

C.  L.  Marlatt  71 

General  Notes  

Reported  Success  of  an  Introduced  Ladybird  Scale  Enemy  in  California 
(p.  7."));  Locusts.  Malaria,  and  Mosquitoes  in  the  Transvaal  (p.  70): 
The  Caterpillar  of  Anticarsia  tjem  mat  His  Hbn..  Injuring  Velvet 
Bean  (p.  77);  An  Instance  of  Complete  Parasitism  of  the  Imported 
Cabbage  Butterfly  (p.  79);  Spread  of  the  Mediterranean  Flour  Moth 
in  Pennsylvania  (p.  80):  Tnsaock  Caterpillars  in  Florida  (p.  80); 
A  Squeaking  Sphinx  Caterpillar  (p.  80);  A  Jumping  Gall  (p.  84); 
The  Great  Elm  Leaf-beetle  (Monoeesta  coryli  Say)  (p.  81);  The 
Malodorus  Carabid,  Nomius  pygmoBUS  Dej.,  in  Oregon  (p.  83);  Re- 
ported Occurrence  of  the  Asparagus  Beetle  in  California  (p.  83);  The 
Scientific  name  of  the  Plum  Gouger— a  Correction  (p.  83);  Unusual 
Food-plants  for  the  Squash  Ladybird  {Epilach  na  boreal  is  Fab. )  (p. 
84) ;  Notes  on  Orthoptera  Collected  on  Sugar  Beets  in  1904  (p.  85) ;  A 
Mexican  Kissing  Bug  (p.  80) ;  Hydrocyanic-acid  Gas  Against  the  Bed- 
bug (p.  86);  Singular  Increase  of  "  Lerp"'  on  Trees  of  the  "Yellow 
Box"  {Eucalyptus  melliodora)  (p.  87):  A  Red  Spider  on  Cotton  (p. 
87);  Some  Sugar-cane  Insects  (p.  88);  Some  Observations  on  Kansas 
Insects  (p.  88);  Some  Local  Names  for  Common  Insects  (p.  89). 

(5) 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PLATES. 

Page. 


Plate  I.  Fig.  1. — Anthonomus  oeneotinctus:  weevil,  work,  and  pupa  in 
situ.    Fig.  2. — Work  of  pepper  weevil,  showing  punctures, 

larva  in  situ,  and  exit  hole   46 

H.  Fig.  1. — Weevil-eaten  cowpeas  kept  under  trade  conditions.  Fig. 

2. — Cowpeas  from  cold  storage  -   50 

III.  Fig.  1. — Cowpeas  in  cold  storage  from  March  7,  1903,  to  May  1, 

1903,  after  which  time  they  were  stored  in  the  Seed  Labora- 
tory.   Fig.  2. — Cowpeas  in  cold  storage  from  March  7,  1903,  to 

November  1,  1904                                                             ...  50 

IV.  Cant nia  licus:  stages  and  details   72 

TEXT  FIGURES. 

Fig.  1.  Ligyrus  rugiceps:  cane,  showing  injury   9 

2.  Ligyrus  rugiceps:  corn,  showing  injury  .   10 

3.  Ligyrus  rugiceps:  larva   12 

4.  Ligyrus  rugiceps:  stubble  cane,  showing  feeding  place  of  larva   13 

5.  Chalepus  trachypygus:  beetle,  larva  and  details   14 

6.  Erax  lateralis:  fly.  larva,  puparium.  and  details   16 

7.  Pentatoma  ligata:  adult  and  eggs     21 

8.  Pentatoma  ligata:  supposed  work  on  cotton  boll   29 

9.  Hulstea  undulatella:  adult  and  larva   35 

10.  Hulstea  undulatella:  longitudinal  section  of  injured  beet    36 

11.  Hulstea  undulatella:  upper  portion  of  injured  beet   37 

12.  Exorista  pyste                                                             .   39 

13.  Chelonus  iridescens    39 

14.  Spilochalcis  torvina      40 

15.  Taxonus  nigrisoma:  larva,  cocoon,  and  adult   41 

16.  Anthonomus  oeneotinctus:  weevil,  much  enlarged    44 

17.  Bruchus  obtectus,  B.  chinensis,  and  B.  guadrimaculatus   49 

18.  Calpodes  ethlius:  adult,  larva,  and  pupae    -    55 

19.  Galerucella  nymphcece:  adult   -  -   59 

20.  Anticarsia  gemmatilis:  moth,  larva,  and  details.    78 

(<;) 


SOME  MISCELLANEOUS  RESULTS  OF  THE  WORK  OF  THE 
BUREAU  OF  ENTOMOLOGY. 

\  nr. 


THE  SUGAR-CANE  BEETLE. 

( lAffifi  im  i  iniicrps  Lee  ) 

[  Wit h  nntrs  on  ass<xiatt»<l  sjn'«  i«»s.  ] 

By  E.  s.  <;.  Tims. 

In  lss<).  in  southern  Louisiana,  there  occurred  a  Berioua  outbreak  of 
the  Bugar-cane  beetle,  bo  disastrous  in  it-  effect  on  the  sugar  yield 
that  many  planters  gave  n|>  the  growing  of  this  crop  and  turned  their 
energies  t<>  rice  cultivation.  This  was  especially  true  along  the  Mis- 
sissippi River  north  of  New  Orleans  ami  at  some  points  along  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad. 

Prom  i^s"  until  the  present  time  there  have  been  many  reports  of 
injury  caused  by  this  beetle  (and  some  other  closely  related  species) 
to  sugar  cane,  corn,  and  other  crop-.  Throughout  Louisiana,  Missis- 
sippi, ami  other  Southern  State-,  and  even  SO  tar  north  as  North 
Carolina  in  the  east  and  Iowa  in  the  west,  have  come  reports  of  a 
beetle  that  "eat-  into  the  plant  to  the  heart."  The  injury  to  corn 
in  the  north  is  usually  caused  by  Ligyrus  gibbosus  DeG.,  a  species 
very  closely  related  to  the  sugar-cane  hectic.  The  reports  of  injury  to 
sugar  cane  appear  to  l»e  on  the  increase  throughout  the  sugar-cane 
growing  States,  doubtless  partially  owing  to  the  fact  that  consider- 
able new  land  is  each  year  being  opened  for  cultivation  and  also  to 
the  fact  that  the  planters  are  beginning  to  notice  more  closely  when 

the\  see  their  crops  suddenly  cut  down. 

Under  instructions  from  the  entomologist,  two  trips  were  made  by 
the  writer  in  L904  to  Louisiana  to  study  the  life  history  of  this  in- 
sect— one  in  April  and  May  and  the  other  in  the  latter  part  of  Octo- 
ber, when  the  cane  harvesting  was  in  progress. 

An  investigation  of  the  1880  outbreak  was  made  by  Dr.  L.  O.  How- 
ard in  the  spring  of  that  year,  his  report  being  published  as  Special 
Keport  Xo.  58  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  later  appearing 
in  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  for  1880.a  In  this 
report  there  i>  given  a  very  complete  account  of  the  history  of  the 


"1881:  Rept  Comm.  Agile  f.  1S80,  pp.  236-240. 
(T) 


8 


beetle  as  known  at  that  time,  its  method  of  attack,  and  some  sugges- 
tions regarding  remedies. 

The  sugar-cane  beetle  measures  from  one-half  to  five-eighths  of  an 
inch  (15  to  18  mm.)  in  length,  is  jet  black  above  and  black  and 
piceous  beneath;  head  roughly  shagreened;  thorax  with  minute 
rather  sparse  punctures;  elytra  with  longitudinal  stria1  and  many 
small  punctures;  thorax  and  elytra  polished  and  shining;  on  each 
wing  cover  near  the  tip  a  smooth,  slightly  elevated  prominence,  be- 
yond which  the  elytra  are  abruptly  truncate;  abdomen  projecting 
slightly  beyond  the  tips  of  the  elytra.  The  legs  are  coarsely  spined, 
the  front  tibia?  being  broad  and  armed  with  four  large,  broad  teeth. 
This  species  can  be  readily  separated  from  the  rice  beetle  (Ohalepus 
trachypygus  Burm.)  by  its  smaller  size  and  more  parallel  sides.  The 
rice  beetle  is  more  rounded  across  the  thorax  and  elytra.  The  carrot 
beetle  {Ligyrus  gibbosus  DeG.)  is  distinguished  readily  by  the  under 
side  of  the  abdomen  being  quite  densely  covered  with  reddish  hair. 

HABITS  AND  METHOD  OF  ATTACK. 

At  the  time  of  the  first  trip  in  1904  much  of  the  sugar  cane  was 
from  10  to  18  inches  high.  The  previous  season  had  been  rather 
unfavorable,  owing  to  excessively  dry  weather,  and  in  some  fields  the  * 
cane  was  sprouting  poorly.  Plant  cane  continued  to  sprout  and  push 
through  the  ground  until  late  in  June,  and  many  of  the  buds  on 
mother  cane  that  were  examined  in  April  and  May  had  died  from 
lack  of  sufficient  moisture. 

During  the  four  Aveeks  of  the  first  trip  the  principal  cane-growing 
regions  of  Louisiana  were  visited,  special  attention  being  paid  to 
plantations  at  Olivier,  Berwick,  Morgan  City,  Broussard,  and  St. 
James.  At  all  places  visited  the  beetle  was  found  injuring  cane 
severely.  In  some  of  the  districts  it  was  reported  that  this  was  the 
first  year  there  had  been  serious  injury,  but  most  of  the  planters 
interviewed  stated  that  they  had  had  more  or  less  loss  from  the  beetles 
for  several  years.  Those  who  had  been  raising  cane  for  long  periods 
could  recall  records  of  injuries  at  varying  intervals  for  the  past  forty- 
live  or  fifty  years.  Especial  injury  Avas  reported  to  have  occurred  in 
1884,  1880,  1876,  1872,  and  once  before  the  civil  war— about  1856-5.7. 
At  times,  in  some  areas,  almost  the  entire  cane  and  corn  crops  had 
been  cut  down. 

This  past  year  (1904)  the  beetles  commenced  work  on  the  cane 
before  the  tips  had  appeared  above  the  ground  and  continued  until 
early  in  July  to  do  serious  damage.  The  injury  to  corn  began  as 
soon  as  the  corn  appeared  above  ground,  whole  fields  being,  in  many 
ca  BS,  completely  laid  bare;  and  even  the  second  planting  was 
destroyed. 


9 


The  injury  is  usually  made  a  few  inches  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  in  cane  generally  1  or  2  inches  above  the  base  of  the  stalk. 


FlG.  1. — Ligyru*  rugiceps:  cane  show-ins?  injury — one-half  natural  size  (original). 

The  depth  below  the  surface  of  the  ground  of  course  depends  much 
upon  the  previous  treatment  of  the  cane  and  the  amount  of  dirt 


10 


thrown  up  by  the  early  cultivations.  The  beetles  cut  a  horizontal 
burrow  into  the  growing  stalk  until  they  reach  the  center,  the  center 
roll  of  leaves  usually  being  cut  through.  The  coarser  fibers  of  the 
outer  sheaths  are  shredded  away  with  the  mandibles  and  front  tarsi, 
the  latter  being  used  more  especially  to  pull  away  the  stringy  fibers 
after  they  have  been  cut  loose  at  one  end.  As  soon  as  the  hole  is 
large  enough  for  the  head  and  a  portion  of  the  thorax,  the  beetle 
uses  the  middle  legs  as  braces  while  it  cuts  its  way  deeper  into  the 
stalk  (fig.  1).  Some  instances  were  noticed  where  small  and  tender 
shoots  had  been  entirely  cut  through  and  in  a  few  cases  shoots  that 
stood  against  a  larger  stalk  had  been  cut  through,  the  beetle  continu- 
ing its  work  into  the  next  stalk. 
The  beetles  seemed  indifferent  to 
the  size  of  the  stalk  attacked, 
larger  older  shoots  being  injured 
as  often  as  the  small  tender  ones, 
even  when  growing  in  the  same 
clump  of  cane.  The  effect  on  the 
shoots  is  very  different  from  that 
on  the  older  stalks,  the  latter 
sometimes  recovering  from  the 
injury  if  not  too  severe,  while  the 
former    soon    wilt,    the  center 


leaves  dying  first.  On  account 
of  the  beetles*  habit  of  working 
underground  it  was  found  very 
difficult  to  determine  the  length 
of  time  necessary  to  cut  a  hole  to 
the  center  of  the  stalk.  One 
beetle  was  seen  to  enter  the 
ground,  and  twenty  minutes  later 
it  had  reached  the  center  of  a 
a  stalk  three-fourths  of  an  inch 
in  diameter,  as  was  readily  de- 
termined by  pulling  out  the  cen- 
tral core  of  leaves.  At  times  stalks  containing  several  partially 
completed  and  one  complete  burrow  are  to  be  found.  Usually  but 
one  rutting  is  made  on  a  stalk,  and,  if  this  reaches  through  the  cen- 
tral core  of  rolled  leaves,  the  shoot  quickly  dries  up  and  in  a  few 
days  falls  to  the  ground.  When  examined,  the  point  at  which  the 
Cutting  was  made  now  appears  decayed,  and  in  and  on  the  rolled 
leaves  in  the  interior  may  often  be  found  small  dipterous  larva'  feed- 
ing on  the  fermenting  and  decaying  cane  or  corn. 

Corn  is  attacked  in  the  same  manner  as  cane  (fig.  2),  but  the  injury 
i-  usually  closer  to  the  base  of  the  stalk  and  more  disastrous  in  its 


Fig. 2. —Ligyrus  rugiceps:  corn  showing  injury 
(after  Comstock). 


n 


effect^  since  corn  rarely  sucker-  when  thus  cut  back.  On  grass,  on 
account  of  it-  -mall  diameter,  the  beetles  nearly  always  sever  the 
attacked  stem. 

Lira  HISTORY. 

The  female  beetle  does  not  appear  to  attack  the  -talk,  primarily  at 
least,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  food,  bul  in  order  that  the  cane 

may  be  deadened  and  the  root-  may  -often  and  decay  SO  as  to  afford 

a  place  for  the  young  Larvae  to  live  and  feed.  The  female,  after  cut- 
king  the  hole  in  the  -talk.  blirrOWS  down  among  the  young  rootlets 

alongside  the  stalk,  sometimes  going  beneath  the  old  stalks  of  mother 
cane,  and  there  deposits  an  egg.  It  was  not  possible  to  ascertain  the 
number  of  eggs  laid  by  a  single  hectic.  LTnder  natural  conditions 
the  beetles  appear  t<»  always  lay  the  egg  after  having  made  the  cut  in 
the  stalk.  I  fsually  DUl  one  egg  was  found  for  each  cut  in  a  cane  stalk, 
l>ut  some  instances  were  discovered  where  there  were  two  or  more 

and  in  one  case  ten.     The  case  where  the  ten  eggs  were  found  was  in 

stubble  cane,  a  large  clump  having  hut  a  single  sprout  growing  From 

it.  Some  stalks  were  found  that  had  been  attacked  by  hectics  as 
many  as  six  time-,  and  in  one  there  were  four  of  the  cuts  that  reached 
to  the  center  or  beyond.     No  attempt  wa-  made  to  ascertain  the  exact 

number  of  eggs  contained  in  the  ovaries  of  the  female,  hut  from 

those  examined  I  should  judge  it  would  exceed  a  hundred.     Eggs  of 

this  beetle  were  first  found  in  the  ground  April  28,  hut  the  size  of 

young  larVffi  present  ;it  that  time  in  the  cane  fields  -which  I  could  not. 
distinguish  from  those  later  hatched  from  the  cane  beetle  eggs — 
would  -how  that  the  egg-laying  period  begins  much  earlier. 

The  egg  of  Ligyrus  rugiceps  i-  pure  white,  shining,  smooth,  pol- 
ished,  globular,  o.7r>  mm.  in  diameter,  and  doe-  not  appear  to  differ 
from  the  egg  of  Ohdlepus  trachypygus,  Ligyrus  gibbosus,  or  Cyclo- 

<■<  l>lml<i  immaculata  except  in  size.  It  is  -lightly  smaller  than  the 
eggs  of  the  first  species  mentioned,  somewhat  larger  than  the  second, 
and  nearly  twice  the  size  of  the  la-t. 

The  young  larvae  begin  to  -how  in  the  egg  the  third  day  after 
deposition,  hut  the  time  of  emergence  varies  greatly,  from  six  to  fif- 
teen days  being  required  in  those  under  observation  in  the  field.  Hot, 
moist  soil  hastens  their  development,  while  cold  soil  with  either  ex- 
cessive wet  or  dry  weather  retards  it.  and  cold,  wet  weather  even 
causes  some  larva'  to  die  in  the  egg. 

The  larva  on  emerging  makes  hut  a  small  cut  and  then  splits  the 
shell  open  by  movements  of  the  head  and  body.  The  newly  hatched 
larva  is  almost  transparent;  the  anal  end  is  densely  white,  while  the 
head  and  appendages  (except  the  white  palpi  and  the  black  tips  of  the 
mandibles),  the  tips  of  legs,  and  the  first  thoracic  segment  are  dark 
brown.    Young  larvae  hatching  from  eggs  lying  on  top  of  the  soil  in  a 


12 


warm,  damp  box  made  no  attempt  to  enter  the  soil  until  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-nine  hours  old.  Young,  apparently  freshly  hatched  larva?  in 
the  field  were  often  found  in  the  soil  near  to  the  eggshell  from  which 
the}r  had  probably  emerged.  Those  larvse  observed  were  not  seen  to 
feed  until  at  least  twenty-four  hours  had  elapsed,  and  then  a  slight 
discoloration  began  to  show  through  the  thin  skin.  Fine  particles  of 
dirt  were  found  at  this  time  in  the  digestive  organs.  The  larva?  are 
very  sluggish  in  their  movements,  unless  turned  out  on  a  dry,  warm 
soil  in  the  sun,  when  they  hasten  to  burrow  beneath  the  surface,  going 
only  a  short  distance  and  soon  making  a  tiny  cell  in  the  earth,  where 
they  curl  up  in  the  characteristic  manner  of  white  grubs. 

The  life  history  from  the  middle  of  May  until  the  last  of  October  is 
not  yet  definitely  known.  The  last  of  October  larvae  were  found  in  the 
fields  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  same  positions  as  those  seen  in  the 
spring;  also  in  the  mother  cane,  upright  stubble  cane,  and  even  at  the 


cane,  3  to  4  inches  beneath  the  surface,  where  they  had  apparently  fed 
for  most  of  their  lives  (sec  fig.  4).  None  of  the  cells  found  in  the 
cane  fields  had  parasites  in  them,  but  Erax  lateralis  larvae,  one  to  two- 
thirds  grown,  were  several  times  found  near  injured  white  grubs. 
But  (wo  pupae  were  found  in  (he  fields,  and  from  one  of  these,  early 
in  November,  then1  emerged  an  adult  of  Ligyms  rugiceps.  The  other 
pupa  was  injured  in  transportation  and  died. 

A  few  adults  of  Ligyrus  /■i/(/ir<>j>s  and  one  of  L.  gibbosus  were 
found  in  earthen  cells  at  Olivier  and  St.  James.  Adults  are  not  usu- 
ally common  in  the  fields  in  October,  but  a  few  may  be  found  in  the 
soil  of  fields  that  have  shown  the  most  injury  the  previous  spring, 
pome  being  in  earthen  cells,  others  in  (he  loose  soil.  A  few  adults 
were  also  found  in  the  soil  at  the  bases  of  clumps  of  "  Grand  Marais  " 
grass  (Pa8pahtm  dilataturn  ).  Adults  did  not  appear  at  lights  at  any 
time  in  October  and  very  rarely  in  the  spring,  nor  were  they  seen 


Fig.  3. — Ligyrus  rugiceps:  larva  slightly  en- 
larged; b,  leg;  r,  face  view  of  head,  more  en- 
larged (original ). 


bases  of  growing  cane  stalks. 
Quite  a  number  of  the  larvae  are 
now  in  our  breeding  cages  in 
Washington  (April  1),  but  none 
have  as  yet  transformed.  Many 
of  those  dug  out  of  the  cane 
fields  in  October  had  formed 
earthen  cells  of  considerable 
solidity  and  were  evidently  full 
grown.  These  cells  were  usually 
placed  5  to  6  inches  below  the 
surface  and  often  close  to  the 
canes.  A  few  were  found  in  the 
mother  cane.  Some  were  dis- 
covered at  the  summit  of  stubble 


L3 


flying  in  the  daytime  in  the  fields,  as  was  the  rice  beetle.  In  April 
•and  May  collections  of  beetles  wining  to  light  were  made  at  Morgan 


Fig.  4. — LUjynns  nujicvps:  stubble  caue  showing  feeding  place  of  larva— two-thirds 

natural  size  (original). 


14 


City,  on  the  shores  of  Atchafalaya  River,  Berwick,  Olivier,  St. 
James,  Donaldson ville,  Lafayette,  New  Iberia,  and  St.  Charles  in 
Louisiana,  and  at  Beaumont  in  Texas.  The  percentage  of  cane  beetles 
coming  to  light  was  extremely  small  when  compared  with. (7 'halejms 
trachypygus,  the  rice  beetle.  In  the  fields  in  the  spring  practically  no 
rice  beetles  occurred,  while  at  lights  fully  90  per  cent  of  the  beetles 
belonged  to  this  species.  The  remaining  percentage  was  divided 
among  Hydrophilida?,  Lachnosterna,  and  the  sugar-cane  beetle,  Ligy- 
rus  (jibbosus  was  rarely  seen  at  lights,  and  not  over  3  per  cent  of  the 
beetles  were  L.  rugiceps. 

OTHER  SPECIES  OCCURRING  IN  FIELDS. 


FlG.  5.  -Chalepus  trachypygus:  a,  beetle;  ft,  larva,  natural  size; 
e,  iiruler  side  of  head  in  detail,  enlarged  (after  Comstock). 


Of  the  other  white  grub  larva3  occurring  in  the  cane  fields  in  early 
spring  and  summer,  the  most  common  appears  to  be  that  of  Cyclo- 
cephala  immaculata  01.  The  adult  of  this  species  is  a  much  smaller 
beetle,  pale  in  color,  and  with  dark  markings.    Nearly  full-grown 

larvae  were  found  not 
uncommonly  in  the 
fields  in  April  and 
May.  They  occur 
at  the  bases  of  the 
stubble  cane  and  be- 
neath grass  roots 
along  the  margins  of 
the  fields.  It  may 
be  this  species  that 
is  reported  as  cutting  suckers  of  the  cane  late  in  the  summer.  The  in- 
jury is  reported  to  be  of  nearly  the  same  character  as  that  of  the  cane 
beetle,  but  the  holes  are  smaller.  Adults  appeared  in  our  breeding 
cages  in  Washington  early  in  July  and  laid  their  eggs  freely  in  rich 
soils.  The  eggs  hatched  from  six  to  fifteen  days  after  deposition,  the 
white  grubs  at  once  forming  tiny  cells  in  the  soil  and  within  twelve 
hours  beginning  to  show  traces  of  soil  in  their  intestinal  tracts. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  the  eggs  in  nature  are  laid  in  the  same  gen- 
eral way  as  those  of  Ligyrus  rugiceps,  but  since  the  species  appears 
so  late  in  the  year  there  will  rarely  be  sufficient  damage  to  cause  rem- 
edies to  be  sought  for  other  than  those  later  on  recommended  for  the 
sugar-cane  beetle. 

It  is  probable  that  the  rice  beetle  does  some  damage  to  the  cane 
field-,  especially  in  the  rice  regions,  where  it  occurs  in  enormous 
numbers.  Very  rarely  was  it  found  in  the  spring,  in  the  soil  around 
the  cane,  or  cutting  cane,  as  was  the  cane  beetle.  Eggs  were  twice 
found  that  apparently  belonged  to  this  species,  but  they  could  not  in 

the  lield  be  distinguished  Prom  those  of  (he  Ligyrus.    Attempts  to 


15 


get  eggs  from  adults  in  captivity  were  unsuccessful,  but  eggs,  appar- 
ently fully  developed,  were  dissected  from  these  beetles. 

Ligyrus  gibbosus  occurs  in  the  fields,  but  not  commonly.  It  was 
bred  from  larvae  found  beneath  young  cotton  plants  in  recently 
manured  soil.  It  was  also  noticed  in  a  few  instances  cutting  cane. 
It-  eggs  are  a  trifle  smaller  than  those  of  the  supir-cane  beetle  and  are 
placed  in  the  same  positions  about  the  roots  of  the  cane.  Adults 
bred  from  the  cotton  fields  emerged  early  in  May  from  pupae  formed 
in  captivity  about  ten  days  previous.  In  the  northern  part  of  Louis- 
iana this  specie-  ha-  at  time-  been  very  destructive  to  corn  in  early 
spring,  ami  it-  ravages  in  the  northern  corn  States  are  well  known. 
At  time-  it  occur-  in  truck  gardens  and  will  doubtless  he  found  breed- 
ing wherever  the  soil  is  enriched  sufficiently  with  stable  manure. 

ENEMHBS. 

Birds. — Blackbirds  may  he  considered  as  one  of  the  most  efficient 
enemies  of  white  grubs  throughout  the  South.  Unfortunately,  how- 
ever, they  are  becoming  each  year  more  scarce  in  many  parts  of 
Louisiana,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  da—  of  immigrants  now  coming 
into  the  State  a-  plantation  laborers  are  constantly,  in  their  spare 
time,  on  the  outlook  for  birds,  and  especially  all  -mall  birds,  for  use 
as  food.  Iu  the  evenings  I  have  several  times  noticed  Laborers  com- 
ing home  from  a  hunt  with  blackbirds,  quad,  sparrows,  and  other 
small  birds.  None  of  these  seem  t<>  come  ami--  for  food  and  the 
direct  result  is  rather  bard  on  the  bird  population. 

Inseets.    Cocoon-  of  a  hymenopterous  parasite,  probably  a  species 

of  Tiphia.  were  found  in  the  cell-  of  a  Cyclocephala  and  a  Ligyrus 
in  a   few    held-  at   Olivier,  and   in  Several   places  in  cell-  of  white 

<ri*i 1 1 >-  beneath  the  roots  of  Grand  Maraia  grass.  But  one  specimen 
was  bred  out.  and  tin-  was  too  badly  damaged  to  admit  of  iden- 
tification. 

Dipterous  larva;  (Erax  lateralis  Macq.)  (fig.  6>),  were  not  uncom- 
mon at  several  places  in  the  sugar-cane  region.    These  usually 

Occurred  at  the  base  of  Stubble  cane  or  in  decaying  mother  cane,  hut 
a  few  were  found  among  grass  root-.  In  almost  every  instance  there 
were  found  with  them  either  injured  white-grub  larvae  or  portions  of 
the  harder  remains  of  such  larvae  or  pupae.  From  nearly  full-grown 
larvae  taken  in  the  spring  there  emerged,  during  the  latter  part  of 
June  and  early  July,  several  specimens  of  a  predaceous  fly  deter- 
mined by  Mr.  Coquillett  as  Kra.r  lateralis  Macq. 

The  full-grown  larvae  are  about  20  to  25  mm.  long,  very  slender, 
shining  white,  with  darker  spiracles  and  a  dark  chitinous  head. 

The  puparia  are  dee])  brown  in  color,  the  spines  being  almost  black. 

Adult  flies  vary  considerably  in  size,  being  from  -JO  to  28  mm.  in 
length;  the  thorax  is  dark  brown,  more  or  less  covered  with  a  gray 


16 


pubescence;  abdomen  black,  shining,  with  a  narrow  band  of  gray  hairs 
at  tip  of  first  segment,  sometimes  interrupted  in  the  middle;  second 
and  third  segments  with  apical  triangular  gray  patches  at  sides; 
anal  segments  pale  or  covered  with  pale  pubescence;  the  other  seg- 
ments may  have  gray  patches  on  the  sides.  Adults  of  this  fly  were 
not  uncommonly  taken  in  October,  and  were  at  that  time  seen  cap- 
turing wild  bees  of  several  species  and  an  unidentified  butterfly. 
They  are  very  swift,  fliers.  Small  dipterous  larvas,  found  in  the  fall 
in  the  cane  fields  with  injured  larva?  of  white  grubs  and  in  cells 
made  for  pupation,  will  doubtless  prove  to  be  this  same  species. 


Fig.  6. — Erax  lateralis:  a,  adult;  b,  face  view  of  head  of  adult;  c,  larva;  d,  head  of 
larva;  e,  puparium — all  enlarged  (original). 

Several  carabid  larvae  were  seen  in  the  fields  feeding  upon  young 
white  grubs,  but  none  were  reared  to  maturity. 

REMEDIES. 

Cultural  remedies. — These  will  doubtless  prove  to  be  most  suc- 
cessful. Doctor  Howard,  in  his  report  on  this  insect  in  1880,  advised 
postponing  the  planting  of  infested  fields  until  spring.  This  will 
prove  to  be  one  of  the  best  remedies,  especially  on  the  higher,  lighter 
soils.  On  two  large  plantations  at  Broussards  it  was  suggested  by 
the  writer  that  the  owners  "  offbar  "  the  cane  in  April  and  May  and 
keep  the  dirt  away  from  it  as  late  as  possible.    This  suggestion  was 


17 


also  tried  at  St.  James  <>n  a  portion  of  one  plantation.  The  other 
fields  on  this  plantation  were  handled  in  the  ordinary  manner.  The 
offbarred  stubble-cane  yielded  from  15  to  17  tons,  while  that  handled 
in  the  ordinary  way  was  yielding  from  8  to  12  tons  per  acre,  and 
much  of  this  was  of  a  rather  poor  grade.  The  offbarred  cane  suckered 

well.  mikI  (lie  suckers  grew  well  and  were  not  nearly  SO  badly  injured 
;i-  those  growing  on  the  other  cane.  Mi-.  Leche,  at  St.  dame-,  put 
in  a  few  acres  of  cane  in  the  fall  of  L904,  but  will  plant  most  of 
his  cane  in  the  spring.  This  will  give  him  opportunity  to  thoroughly 
clean  the  -talk-  and  also  to  -til-  the  -oil  in  the  spring  and  disturb  the 
beetles  that  are  hibernating  or  the  pupa;  of  those  not  yet  fully  devel- 
oped. No  tall  cane  was  put  in  on  one  Large  plantation  at  Broussards, 
while  at  most  of  the  other  places  visited  the  planter-  have  planted 

as  much  cane  thi-  past  fall  a-  the  season  would  allow. 

It  i-  the  custom  on  many  plantations  to  allow  the  trash  to  remain 
on  the  field  as  it  fall-  from  the  knives  at  the  time  of  cutting.  Thi-  i- 
plowed  under,  either  in  the  fall  or  the  next  spring,  and  the  plant  cane 
thus  gets  the  full  benefit.   It  serves,  however,  a-  an  admirable  hiding 

place  through  the  winter  for  all  kinds  of  insects  that  are  present  in 
the  field-,  and  even  when  plowed  under  Serves  the  -aiue  plirpo-e  for 

other  insects  that  prefer  to  go  beneath  the  soil  for  winter. 

It  i-  the  genera]  practice  to  follow  stubble-cane  with  corn.  Some 
planters,  however,  are  -till  attempting  to  run  stubble-cane  for  two  or 
three  year-  before  making  the  change.  Cornfields  that  follow  second 
or  third  year  stubble  suffer  a  much  greater  percentage  of  injury  than 
those  following  <>nly  first-year  stubble.  Where  plant-cane  was 
injured  badly  it  was  found  that  the  cane  had  been  laid  in  the  same 
row-  that  were  in  corn  the  previous  year,  the  furrow-  being  cut  out 
down  the  corn  row.  the  cane-  laid  in.  and  then  dirt,  stubble,  and  trash 
turned  back  over  them.  In  any  of  the  plans  used,  there  is  bound  to  be 
more  or  le-s  trash  buried  with  the  cane  at  the  time  of  planting,  and 
often  three  successive  layer-  of  decaying  vegetable  matter  are  found, 
the  two  lower  of  which  are  scarcely  disturbed  throughout  the  year. 
It  will  readily  be  seen  that  thi-  affords  an  ideal  place  for  the  breed- 
ing of  white  grubs  of  all  kinds,  as  well  as  the  larva1  of  several  other 
insects. 

The  headlands  and  road-ides  in  the  held-  almost  invariably  con- 
tain grass  -od.  sometimes  sufficient  to  enable  quite  a  cutting  to  be 
made  for  hay.  In  thi-  sod  were  found  the  larva?  of  several  specie-  of 
white  grub-,  wireworms.  and  root  worm-,  all  of  which  are  injurious 
to  corn  or  cane  in  either  the  larval  or  adult  stage  or  both. 

It  would  appear  that  some  such  simple  remedies  as  the  following 
would  materially  aid  in  reducing  the  ravages  of  these  insects,  espe- 
cially that  of  the  sugar-cane  beetle:  Clean  culture  of  headlands, 
28739— No.  54— Oo  M  L> 


18 


ditch  banks  and  roadsides;  burning  oft'  in  the  fall  of  all  trash  on 
stubble  field — both  corn  and  cane  ground ;  thorough  cleaning  of  cane 
before  planting;  running  no  second  or  third  year  stubble,  and  offbar- 
ring  stubble-cane  as  late  in  the  spring  as  the  weather  Avill  allow. 

Hand-picking  of  the  beetles  in  the  spring  was  quite  successfully 
employed  by  one  planter.  Children  were  paid  small  sums  to  follow 
the  "  hoe  gangs  "  and  plows  and  pick  up  the  beetles  turned  out. 

While  further  studies  on  the  life  history  and  habits  of  this  insect 
are  necessary  and  desirable,  there  are  some  points  in  its  con- 
trol which  will  readily  be  evident.  One  of  the  most  important  of 
these  is  the  disturbing  of  the  grubs  in  the  ground  after  freezing 
weather  sets  in.  Rather  deep  fall  plowing  will  turn  them  out  and 
kill  many,  and  if  this  is  followed  by  a  heavy  harrow  many  more  will 
be  destroyed.  Planters  in  almost  all  the  districts  visited  have  stated 
that  this  would  also  be  of  advantage  to  the  soil. 

REPORT  ON  A  MEXICAN  COTTON  PEST,  THE  "  CONCHUELA." 

(Pentatoma  ligata  Say.) 
By  A.  W.  Morrill. 
INTRODUCTION. 

A  report  reached  the  Bureau  of  Entomology  in  March,  1904,  to  the 
effect  that  a  considerable  falling  off  in  the  cotton  crop  for  the  season 
of  1903,  on  a  large  plantation  in  the  Laguna  district  of  Mexico,  was 
believed  to  be  due  to  the  work  of  an  insect.  It  Avas  desired  that  the 
matter  be  investigated  by  this  Bureau,  owing  to  the  possibility  of 
obtaining  information  of  value  in  connection  with  the  study  of  cotton 
pests  in  the  United  States.  The  writer  was  consequently  detailed 
to  visit  the  plantation,  the  headquarters  of  which  are  at  Tlahualilo, 
State  of  Durango,  Mexico,  and  to  ascertain  if  an  insect  was  concerned 
in  the  reduction  of  the  yield  of  cotton  for  the  previous  season. 

At  this  plantation  can  be  seen  probably  the  most  extensive  con- 
tinuous cotton  fields  in  the  world,  covering  from  25,000  to  ?>0,000  acres 
of  laud  very  nearly  level,  and  comprising  a  portion  of  an  old  lake 
bed,  with  line  alluvial  soil,  the  great  fertility  of  which  would  be 
almost  entirely  unavailable  but  for  water  which  conies  through  irri- 
gation ditches  from  the  Nazas  River,  some  40  miles  distant.  Sur- 
rounding the  many  thousand  acres  of  cultivated  lands  is  a  desert,  the 
principal  vegetation  of  which  consists  of  scattered  mesquite  trees. 
At  the  time  of  the  writer's  first  visit  (March  7  to  10)  there  was 
absolutely  no  green  vegetation  on  the  estate',  except  a  few  cactus 
plants  in  the  outlying  uncultivated  portions,  thousands  of  poplar 
trees  growing  along  the  banks  of  the  irrigation  canals,  and  a  few 
ornamental  trees  and  shrubs  growing  about  the  offices  and  living 
quarters  of  the  managers. 


19 


The  decrease  in  yield  per  acre  of  planta  (planted)  cotton0  on  this 
plantation  for  the  season  of  1902-3  as  compared  with  the  average 
yield  per  acre  amounted  approximately  to  one-third  bale,  or  a  total 
in  round  numbers  of  (>.00O  bales.  The  resident  manager  of  the 
plantation  ascribed  a  considerable  part  of  this  difference  to  lack  of 
water  for  irrigation  at  the  most  advantageous  times  on  certain  parts 
of  the  estate.  In  the  cotton  fields  an  examination  of  various  portions 
indicated  that  fully  10  or  15  per  rent  of  all  the  bolls  had  been  ren- 
dered valuless  by  some  agency.  A  conservative  estimate  would  place 
the  loss  on  this  plantation  at  between  1,200  and  1,500  bales.  The 
resident  manager  of  the  plantation  believed  this  injury  to  the  bolls 
to  have  been  caused  by  ;i  bug  which  occurred  in  abundance  on  the 
cotton  plant-  the  previous  season.  Fragments  of  several  pentatomid 
bu<rs  found  anions  the  fallen  leaves  under  the  cotton  plant-  were 
identified  by  Mr.  O.  Heidemann  a>  Pentatoma  ligata  Say.  The 
injured  bolls  showed  no  boll  weevil  attack  and  Less  than  1  per  cent  of 
injury  which  could  be  traced  to  the  bollworm. 

Specimens  of  the  insecJ  believed  to  bave  caused  the  injury  during 
the  previous  season  were  senl  to  the  writer  in  duly,  and  an  accom- 
panying letter  from  the  resident  manager  stated  that  the  bugs  had 
appeared  in  the  cotton  fields  for  the  first  time  in  the  season.  It  was 
impossible,  however,  to  again  visit  the  locality  until  several  weeks 
after  these  specimens  were  received*  The  second  visit  to  Tlahualilo 
was  from  A.ugin4  30  to  September  s.  L904,  and  it  was  during  this 
period  that  the  observations  recorded  in  this  paper  were  made  on  the 
life  history  and  habit-  of  the  insect  believed  by  many  to  have  occa- 
sioned damage  to  the  cotton  crop  of  a  single  plantation  amounting  to 
many  thousands  of  dollars. 

HISTORY. 

The  species  is  known  to  the  native-  of  Mexico,  more  especially  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  country,  by  the  name  of  "  conchuela."  a  Spanish 
word,  meaning  M  Little  shell.'5  That  thi^  species  should  have  received 
a  common  name  and  that  it  should  be  so  generally  known  among  the 
cotton  growers  and  laboring  classes  in  the  leading  cotton-producing 
district  in  Mexico,  indicates  in  itself  that  it  has  long  been  a  common 
pest  in  the  cotton  fields.  The  specie-  was  first  described  in  1831, 
but,  while  mentioned  in  entomological  literature  several  times  since, 
the  writer  is  unable  to  find  mention  of  it  as  a  pest,6  except  for  a  few 

■  The  yield  of  seppa.  or  zoca  cotton  as  it  is  known  in  the  Laguua,  is  not 
here  considered,  as  it  receives  only  surplus  water  varying  in  amount  from  year 
to  year. 

&  Doctor  Fitch  referred  to  what  he  supposed  to  he  this  species  feeding  on 
juniper  and  grape  in  New  York  State,  hut  it  seems  prohahle  that  his  insect  was 
/'.  juniperma  Linn.    See  footnote,  page  20. 


20 


allusions  to  it  in  the  newspapers  in  the  summer  of  1004  as  being  de- 
structive to  cotton  in  Mexico.  Several  specimens  of  Pentatoma  ligata 
were  received  by  this  Bureau  in  August,  190-2.  from  Doctor  Duges, 
taken  at  San  Pedro  de  la  Golonia,  Coahuila,  Mexico.  The  labels  bear 
the  inscription,  "  Injuring  cotton." 

DISTRIBUTION. 

The  original  description  of  Pentatoma  ligata,  by  Thomas  Say."  was 
based  on  a  specimen  from  Missouri.  Uhler  h  notes  that  the  species 
occurs  in  Missouri  and  Texas,  doubting  the  statement  of  Fitch  c  that 
it  occurs  in  New  York.  Herrich-Schaeffer d  described  what  is  now 
generally  considered  Say's  species  under  the  name  of  Gimex  rufo- 
cinctns,  from  specimens  from  Mexico,  and  Kouchakevitch  e  described 
specimens  from  "  Russian  America,"  under  the  name  of  Cimex  rufo- 
marginatus,  which  Van  Duzee  f  places  as  a  synonym  of  P.  ligata. 
Smith"  records  P.  ligata  Say  as  occurring,  though  "rare."  at  Cald- 
well, X.  J.  Van  Duzee  f  says  of  the  distribution  of  this  species:  "P. 
ligata  ranges  from  Mexico  northward  through  the  Rocky  Mountains 
to  Vancouver  Island,  and  apparently  still  farther  north  to  Alaska." 

In  the  collections  of  the  Bureau  of  Entomology  and  of  the  United 
States  National  Museum  are  specimens  bearing  locality  labels,  as 
follows:  Pecos,  N.  M.  (Ckll),  July  IT,  1903;  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  (Co- 
quillett)  ;  Arizona:  San  Diego,  Texas  (Schwarz)  ;  Abilene,  Texas 
(Morrill).  Nov.  8,  1904;  Tlahualilo,  Dgo.,  Mexico  (Morrill).  Sept.  3, 
1904;  San  Pedro  de  la  Colonia,  Coahuila,  Mexico  (Dr.  Duges),  Inj. 
cotton,  Aug.  12,  1902. 

DESCRIPTION. 

The  egg. — Diameter  about  0.9  mm.  and  height  about  1.2  mm.  There 
are  three  distinct  parts  of  the  egg  which  may  be  termed  body  or 
lower  part,  neck  or  intermediate  part,  and  the  lid  or  cap.  The  last- 
named  portion  usually  remains  attached  by  a  hinge  after  the  hatch- 
ing of  the  young.    The  body,  the  height  of  which  is  about  two-thirds 

a  Description  of  New  Species  of  Heteropterous  Hemiptera  of  North  America, 
1831. 

''Say's  Entomology  of  North  America,  Vol.  I.  p.  315. 

r  The  following  references  to  /'.  ligata  by  Fitch  and  subsequent  writers  seem 
to  refer  to  /'.  juniper ina  Linn.:  Pitch,  Aim.  Report  N.  V.  State  Agric-.  Soe., 
No.  ."»,  p.  389,  No.  t.  p.  748 ;  Packard,  Guide,  p.  54G,  1869;  (Hover.  .Manuscript 
Notes  from  My  Journal,  p.  .*!<),  1876;  Provancher,  Petite1  Fauna  Entom&bgique 
du  Canada  Hemlpteres  [II,  pp.  11  12,  1886;  Jantnor.  Fourth  Report  State  Ent, 
p.  :r>.  1888,  Tenth  Report  State  Fait.,  p.  432,  1895. 

i  Wanzewartigen  Insecten,  p.  94,  1839. 

'  Nor.  Soc  Ent.  Rossicae,  Vol.  I  v.  p.  99,  is»',7. 

f  Tr.-ins.  Am.  Ent.  Soc.  Vol.  XXX,  |».  H.  1904. 

?Cat  ins.  N.  J.,  p.  120,  1900. 


21 


of  that.of  the  entire  egg,  is  subcylindrical,  being  constricted  in  the 
middle,  rounded  more  <>r  Less  at  the  lower  end.  and  at  the  upper 
abruptly  curving  inward  to  inert  the  neck.  The  width  of  the  neck 
on  the  side  (dorsal)  opposite  the  hinge  of  the  cap  is  about  one-sixth 
of  the  entire  height  of  the  egg,  and  on  the  ventral  side  about  one- 
third  ;i>  wide  as  on  the  dorsal  side.  On  the  upper  margin  of  the  neck 
are  pure  white  blunt  processes,  numbering  as  a  rule  22.  The  cap  is 
subcorneal,  diameter  at  base  two-third-  of  diameter  of  body  of  egg, 
height  one-fourth  or  one-fifth  the  diameter  of  base,  apex  rounded  <>r 
Bomewhat  flattened.  The  appearance  of  the  egg  is  affected  by  trans- 
lucent and  opaque  areas,  which  seem  t<>  be  due  t<>  the  absence  and  pres- 
ence <d*  a  coating  of  wax.    The  cap  i-  translucent,  except  for  the 


FlO.  7.  J'riitt  totma  liyota:  a,  adult  hiii; ;  h,  vna  mass  <>n  leases;  r,  ej;y  jast  ho  fore  emer- 
k'enre  (if  nyiii|ih  ;  </.  oi:u  at  an  earlier  staue  of  development  ;  r.  vzx  from  side,  showing 
exit  hole  at  top;  /.  o--;  closed,     n,  h,  enlarged  ;  <■  f.  greatly  enlarged  (original). 

edge,  and  the  neck  is  translucent,  except  for  it-  upper  ed<re  adjoin- 
ing the  cap.  the  translucent  edges  of  the  neck  and  cap  thus  combining 
to  make  a  distinct  ring  of  pure  white.  The  body  of  the  egg  is 
opaque,  except  for  three  or  four  small  translucent  areas,  usually  pres- 
ent on  the  side  When  the  nymph  is  nearly  ready  to  hatch  the  trans- 
lucent areas  are  quite  dark.  In  some  of  the  empty  shells  of  the  same 
hatch  of  eggs  the  translucent  area-  remain  clear,  though  not  trans- 
parent, and  in  some  they  become  yellowish.  The  entire  chorion  is 
closely  and  finely  punctate,  the  punctures  in  the  translucent  parts 
being  smaller  than  on  the  opaque  parts.  The  eggs  are  deposited 
in  compact  batches  in  the  hexagonal  system,  each  e<>ir.  except  those  on 
the  outside,  being  in  contact  with  six  others. 


22 


Nymphs. — As  only  three  of  the  five  nymph  stages  were  observed 
and  described  by  the  writer,  it  has  seemed  advisable  not  to  publish  at 
this  time  a  technical  description  of  any  stages  except  the  ego-  and 
adults.  A  brief  description  follows,  which  will  suffice  to  give  a  gen- 
eral idea  of  the  appearance  of  the  immature  stages. 

The  newly  hatched  nymph  appears  to  the  naked  eye  entirely  black, 
but  under  a  lens  the  abdomen  is  seen  to  be  very  dark  slate-colored, 
with  light  spots  on  the  lateral  margins  and  a  pair  of  shining  black 
tubercles  at  the  middle  of  the  second  and  third  abdominal  segments 
above.  This  stage  is  about  1  mm.  in  length  and  nearly  as  broad  as 
long;  the  head  is  appressed,  making  the  broadly  oval  outline  almost 
unbroken;  the  dorsum  is  rounded,  giving  the  insect  the  appearance 
of  a  minute  turtle.  The  next  two  stages  are  much  alike,  with  reddish 
or  orange  border  on  thorax  and  abdomen,  thorax  otherwise  black, 
head  black,  abdomen  sometimes  entirely  black,  but  more  often  dark 
violaceous  with  black  punctures.  The  fourth  and  fifth  stages — al- 
though as  stated  above  not  seen  by  the  writer — are  without  much 
doubt  characterized  by  a  general  black,  violaceous,  or  olivaceous 
black  color  with  a  reddish  or  orange  border  to  the  thorax  and 
abdomen  as  in  the  first  three  instars.  Also  reasoning  from  what 
takes  place  in  other  pentatomids,  without  exception  as  far  as  known 
the  wing  pads  first  make  their  appearance  in  the  fourth  stage  as 
backward-curving  extensions  of  the  sides  of  the  mesonotum,  not 
reaching  the  posterior  margin  of  the  metanotum.  In  the  fifth  or 
last  nymph  instar  of  all  pentatomids  observed  by  the  writer,  includ- 
ing representatives  of  three  genera,  the  wing  pads  extend  to  the 
middle  or  slightly  be}rond  the  middle  of  the  third  abdominal  segment. 

Adult. — The  original  description  of  the  adult  of  P.  ligata  by  Say 
is  as  follows : 

P.  ligata.    Dull  olive  green,  external  edge  sanguineous. 
Inhabits  Missouri. 

Body  olive  green,  rather  dull;  continently  punctured;  antenna  black;  second 
joint  rather  longer  than  the  third;  thorax,  lateral  margin  sanguineous  passing 
to  yellowish  on  its  inner  side;  seutel  at  tip  bright  sanguineous;  heinelytra  san- 
guineous on  the  lateral  margin  nearly  to  middle,  abdomen  on  the  lateral  margin 
from  Hie  middle  to  the  tip  sanguineous;  beneath  tinged  with  yellow  on  the 
pectus;  1'eet  greenish,  yellowish  at  base. 

Length,  eleven-twentieths  of  an  inch. 

Presented  to  me  by  Nuttall  as  .1  native  of  Missouri.    The  edge  of  the  head  is 

not  reddish. 

The  top  of  the  head  is  more  closely  set  with  punctures  than  the 
I  horax  and  is  quite  black  in  all  (he  specimens  I  have  seen  ;  when  there 
is  an  olivaceous  or  pale  tinge  it  is  scarcely  noticeable.  The  basal 
joint  of  the  antenna'  is  sometimes,  but  not  always,  pah1.  The  eyes 
may  be  entirely  black,  or,  as  sometimes  occurs,  the  outer  rows  of 
facets  are  olivaceous  or  more  rarely  slightly  reddish.    The  under 


23 


side  of  the  head  is  more  or  less  pale  or  bright  olivaceous.  The  lateral 
margin  of  the  pronotum  is  acutely  carina  ted.  The  ground  color  of  the 
body  above,  while  usually  m  dull  olive  green,  may  have  a  slight 
purplish  tinge.  Lateral  margin  of  prothorax  above  and  below  and 
the  basal  third  to  the  basal  two-third-  of  the  costal  margin  of  the 
wing  coriuin  varies  in  color  from  dull  yellowish  to  bright  crimson; 
among  the  specimens  seen  by  the  writer  the  brighter  shades  being 
the  more  common.  The  tip  of  the  scutellum  corresponds  in  color 
t<>  that  on  the  margin  of  the  thorax.  In  some  specimens  the  legs 
are  entirely  black,  but  in  most  specimens  there  i-  more  or  less  green- 
ish or  olivaceous  on  the  coxa?,  trochanters,  and  bases  of  the  femora. 
The  lateral  margins  of  the  abdominal  segments  above  and  below 
are  colored  Like  the  margin  of  the  thorax.  The  wing  membrane-  are 
fuscous.  The  renter  is  quite  variable  in  color,  sometime-  almost 
black,  but  more  commonly  olivaceous.  One  specimen  at  hand  ex- 
hibits distinct  purplish  spots  at  the  base  of  the  prothoracic  legs, 
another  with  a  wry  large  olivaceous  venter  ha-  a  pair  of  large  light- 
green  spots,  one  on  each  side  of  the  middle,  on  the  venter  of  the  sec- 
ond, and  a  pair  on  the  venter  of  the  third  abdominal  segment.    In  all 

specimens  -ecu  the  Stigmata  are  paler  than  the  surrounding  area  and 

not  black,  a-  in  Cirnex  tu fomarginatus  A.  Kouch.,  which  Van  Duzee 
place-  a-  a  synonym  of  /'.  ligata. 

The  length  given  by  Say.  equaling  about  1  I  mm.,  is  within  a  frac- 
tion of  a  millimeter  the  average  of  ten  specimens  at  hand,  which 
range  from  L3  to  1 1!  nun.  The  greatest  width  of  the  prothorax  in 
the  same  lot  varies  from  6.75  to  7.50  nun.,  averaging  about  7.25  mm. 

FOOD  PLANTS. 

Besides  Doctor  Fitch's  mention  of  /'.  ligata  feeding  on  grape  and 
hemlock,  which,  as  I  have  indicated  in  the  footnote  on  page  20,  prob- 
ably refers  to  another  species,  I  am  unable  to  find  any  reference  in 

scientific  Literature  to  the  food  plant-  of  this  insect.  Specimens  in 
the  collections  of  the  Ibireau  of  Entomology  and  of  the  National 
Museum  show  it  to  have  been  taken  on  cotton  at  Abilene.  Tex.;  Tla- 
hualilo,  DurangO,  Mexico;  and  San  Pedro  de  la  Colonia,  Coahuila, 
Mexico.  Mi-.  John  Conduit  and  other-  connected  w  ith  the  TIahualilo 
Agricultural  Company  believe  the  insect  identical  with  one  which 
occurs  in  more  or  less  abundance  on  mesquite  tree-,  feeding  princi- 
pally on  the  bean.  In  confinement  adults  fed  on  steins  of  mesquite 
Leaves  and  also  on  the  berry  of  the  China  tree  {.]/<li<i  sp.).  Imma- 
ture insects  have  fed,  in  confinement,  on  leaves  of  hackberry  and  on 
fresh  mesquite  beans.  It  is  probable  that  the  species  can  subsist  on 
a  large  number  of  plants,  but  prefers  those  with  succulent  stems  or 
fruits.    In  September,  11)04.  examinations  were  made  of  corn  in 


24 


fields  at  Tlahualilo,  of  weeds  along  the  roadside,  of  the  desert  vege- 
tation of  mesquite  (the  beans  being  dry  at  this  time)  and  cacti,  and 
of  ornamental  trees  and  shrubs  at  the  headquarters  of  the  estate;  but 
on  none  of  these  were  the  insects  found. 

SEASONAL  HISTORY. 

For  the  information  concerning  the  seasonal  history  of  the  con- 
chuela,  here  presented,  the  writer  is  indebted  to  Mr.  John  Conduit, 
who,  owing  to  the  immense  tract  of  cotton  grown  under  his  supervi- 
sion, gives  particular  attention  to  cotton  pests,  and  in  addition  to 
personal  examinations  in  the  fields,  encourages  the  "  bosses  "  of  the 
various  parts  of  the  estate  to  send  in  to  the  office  specimens  of  insects 
taken  on  the  cotton  plant,  with  information  concerning  their  abun- 
dance and  injury.  The  "bosses"  in  their  turn  make  personal  exam- 
inations and  send  dozens  of  laborers  into  the  various  subdivisions  of 
the  estate  to  search  for  any  particular  insect  concerning  which  infor- 
mation may  be  desired  at  headquarters.  This  system  made  it  possible 
to  obtain  accurate  information  concerning  the  abundance  of  the  pen- 
tat  omid  bug  here  considered. 

In  1903  the  conchuelas  were  abundant  only  during  the  month  of 
July,  and  reached  a  maximum  in  numbers  about  July  20.  Their 
first  appearance  was  in  the  outlying  districts,  next  to  the  mesquite, 
but  they  soon  spread  all  over  the  cotton  plantation,  though  they  were 
more  abundant  in  certain  parts  than  in  others.  The  insects  disap- 
peared early  in  August  and  did  not  reappear  in  noticeable  abundance 
during  the  season,  although  the  cotton  plants  remained  green  until 
the  17th  of  October,  when  the  first  frost  occurred. 

Although  a  constant  watch  for  the  insect  was  kept  during  the  late 
spring  and  early  summer  of  1904,  the  first  specimen  was  not  taken  in 
the  field  until  July  6.  Several  specimens  were  soon  after  this  for- 
warded to  me  at  Victoria,  Tex.  During  the  following  seven  days  a 
rapid  increase  in  their  numbers  was  noted,  causing  considerable  fear 
lest  they  seriously  dn mage  the  cotton  crop.  On  July  17,  however,  it 
was  observed  that  a  marked  decrease  in  their  numbers  had  occurred. 
Nowhere  on  the  estate  were  the  insects  as  abundant  as  in  July  of  the 
previous  year,  nor  were  they  so  generally  distributed.  On  August 
31,  the  date  of  my  lirst  examination  in  the  cotton  fields  on  my  second 
visit  to  Tlahualilo,  the  insects  were  so  scarce  that  but  five  specimens 
were  found  during  the  first  search  of  one  and  one-half  hours.  They 
were  afterwards  found  in  somewhat  greater  abundance  in  another 
portion  of  the  estate.  No  nymphs  and  only  a  single  batch  of  eggs 
could  be  found  in  the  held,  this  latter  having  been  deposited  in  a  field 
cage.  Several  hours  each  day  for  nearly  a  week  were  spent  in  the 
cotton  fields  before  any  adults  were  seen  in  coition.  During  this 
period  many  adults  were  seen  at  diH'erent  times  of  the  day.     In  the 


25 


afternoon  of  the  seventh  day  <>f  these  observations  a  male  was  ob- 
served courting  a  female,  and  later  in  the  same  afternoon,  in  a  brief 
stop  in  a  field,  two  pairs  of  the  bugs  were  seen  copulating.  During 
the  last  three  day-  -pent  in  investigating  this  insect  many  pairs  were 
found  mating<  The  reason  for  the  reappearance  of  the  mating 
instinct  was  not  apparent.  Messrs.  Conduit  and  Vaughan,  both  in 
lie'  employ  of  the  Tlahnalilo  Company,  assert  that  live  or  six  weeks 

earlier  in  the  season  the  adults  were  frequently  seen  copulating  on 
the  cotton  plant-. 

LIFE  HISTORY  AND  HABITS. 

AIKI.TS. 

Methods* — Owing  to  the  scarcity  of  the  bugs  during  the  investiga- 

,  tion  and  to  the  ease  with  which  they  can  be  detected  when  present, 
the  plan  of  tagging  bolls  and  plants  in  the  field  and  making  record- 
twice  a  day.  was  found  to  ^rive  Lr<>od  results.  Some  observation-  were 
made  with  adult-  in  confinement  in  tumblers,  and  with  others  con- 
fined  in  large  wire  screens  in  the  field-. 

Feeding  habits* — The  adult-  seem  to  he  able  to  detect  food  from  a 
distance,  though  this  point  was  not  definitely  determined.  In  each 
of  three  ( -;i -e-  when  an  adult  escaped  from  a  cage  out  of  door-  in  a 

lield  where  the  plants  were  widely  separated,  it  was  afterward  found 
on  the  plant  nearest  in  it-  direction  from  the  cage;  in  other  words, 
the  bu<rs  did  not  pa—  over  or  Dear  any  other  cotton  plant-  in  going 
to  the  plant  upon  which  they  were  found. 

In  confinement,  the  adult-  fed  on  the  fruit  of  the  China  tree  and 
twigs  of  the  mesquite  tree,  a-  well  a-  upon  cotton  polls.  Five  adults 
left  in  a  glass  with  a  two-third-  grown  bollworm  for  six  hours 
showed  no  carnivorous  tendencies. 

Although  the  adults  feed  upon  all  parts  of  the  cotton  plant  in  the 
field,  the  bolls  are  much  preferred  to  the  stems  and  leave-.  Fifty- 
seven  field  record-  -how  the  total  number  of  time-  the  hilars  were  re- 
corded as  feeding  on  bolls  to  be  13;  on  leaves,  1:  on  >tems.  10.  The 
bugs  were  recorded  resting  on  boll-  in  the  field  ten  time-:  on  the  leaf, 
once:  and  on  the  stem,  once.  The  bolls  are  undoubtedly  preferred  on 
account  of  the  rich  juice  of  the  seed  which  the  insect  is  able  to  reach 
(except  probably  in  the  older  boll-  with  well-matured  lint  )  by  means 
of  its  mouth  -eta*.  The  examination  of  many  bolls  show-  that  the 
immature  seeds  are  the  objective  points  of  the  insect's  attack.  A 
preference  is  almost  invariably  shown  for  bolls  growing  near  the 
tops  of  the  plants. 

In  feeding  on  the  cotton  plant,  the  adult  generally  occupies  a  con- 
spicuous position,  especially  when  on  a  boll.  The  writer  has  never 
found  them  inside  the  bract-  of  a  square,  and  when  on  a  boll,  never 
entirely  hidden  by  the  bracts. 

When  feeding  upon  a  cotton  boll  the  mouth  seta1  do  not  remain 


26 


in  the  usual  position  in  the  groove  of  the  rostrum,  but  the  insect, 
after  inserting  the  setaa  into  the  tissue  of  the  plant,  either  folds  the 
rostrum  directly  back,  freeing  the  seta1  entirely  from  it,  or  doubles 
it  up  in  the  form  of  the  letter  "Z,"  the  upper  angle  representing  the 
joint  between  the  first  and  second,  and  the  lower  angle  that  between 
the  second  and  third  segments.  At  the  latter  joint  the  setse  remain 
in  the  groove.  When  feeding,  the  bug  constantly  raises  and  lowers  its 
head.  When  the  seta?  are  entirely  withdrawn  from  the  boll,  the  spine, 
located  on  the  inner  side  of  a  fore  tibia  slightly  beyond  the  middle, 
is  used  to  replace  them  in  the  rostral  groove.  The  seta4  are  pressed 
into  place  by  one  stroke  of  the  tibia. 

These  insects  have  been  observed  to  feed  upon  a  cotton  boll  for  ten 
minutes  without  withdrawing  their  setae.  One  adult  under  observa- 
tion in  the  field  visited  four  bolls,  two  on  each  of  two  plants  in  two 
days,  and  remained  for  over  thirty-six  hours  on  the  last  of  the  four 
bolls.  Another  adult  bug  remained  on  the  same  boll  for  two  and 
three-fourths  days.  Three  remained  on  the  same  plant  for  over 
thirty  hours,  and  three  others  were  found  on  the  same  plant  thirty- 
two  hours  after  they  were  first  recorded.  In  none  of  these  cases  was 
it  known  how  long  the  insects  had  been  on  these  plants  previous  to 
their  being  first  noted.  They  do  not  always  remain  so  long,  but  have 
been  observed  to  alight  for  but  a  few  minutes  on  a  cotton  plant  and 
then  fly  to  another  without  feeding. 

In  cages  in  the  field  during  the  middle  of  the  day  the  insects  are 
more  restless  and  are  more  frequently  seen  crawling  about  on  the 
screens;  after  sundown  they  are  usually  found  quietly  feeding. 

Flight. — When  liberated  in  a  room  the  adults  fly  readily  and  inva- 
riably nearly  straight  toward  the  light.  In  the  field  their  direction 
of  flight  is  usually  curving  and  the  greatest  distance  obtained  in  any 
of  six  flights  observed  and  recorded  was  25  feet.  In  four  successive 
llights  from  the  hand,  held  at  a  height  of  4  feet  from  the  ground, 
an  adult  female  covered  on  an  average  15|  feet  per  flight.  An  adult 
male,  apparently  in  normal  condition,  taken  when  feeding  on  a  boll, 
in  attempting  to  fly  from  the  hand  dropped  directly  to  the  ground. 
It  is  probable  that  these  records  are  not  indicative  of  the  distance 
which  these  bugs  are  capable  of  (lying  when  newly  matured. 

Gregariou8ne88. — II  very  frequently  happens  that  more  than  one 
conchiiela  is  present  on  a  plant,  even  though  no  others  can  be  found 
on  plants  for  a  considerable  distance  in  any  direction.  The  Relief 
thai  this  gregariousness  is  not  due  to  the  adults  found  on  a  plant 
having  developed  from  eggs  laid  on  that  plant  is  supported  by  the 
fact  that  careful  search  failed  to  reveal  the  remains  of  the  egg  batch, 
by  the  fad  that  adults  under  observation  did  not  remain  on  the  same 
plant  in  any  case  for  as  long  as  three  days,  and  also  by  the  frequently 
noted  occurrence  of  two  or  three  adults  appearing  at  nearly  the  same 


27 


time  on  a  plant  which  had  been  free  from  the  insect-,  as  shown  by 
examinations  for  two  or  three  previous  days.  The  following  is  the 
record  of  M  specimens  of  /'.  ligata  collected  in  the  cotton  fields. 
Bach  record  refers  i<>  collection  from  a  single  plant  when  none  could 
be  found  on  near-by  plants:  August  31,  2 :  September  1.  first  plant, 
second  plant,  :'>:  September  2,  first  plant.  3,  second  plant,  1:  Sep- 
tember •"*>.  first  plant.  2  (male  and  female),  second  plant.  5  (3  females, 
1  male,  and  1  escaped);  September  3,  first  plant.  1.  second  plant.  1. 
third  plant,  2;  September  1.  first  plant.  1.  second  plant,  2;  September 
<i.  first  plant,  3,  second  plant.  •_!.  third  plant,  fourth  plant.  2.  The 
average  Dumber  of  bugs  per  plant  in  the  instances  recorded  above 
Was  2J.     In  addition  to  the  instances  where  two  or  more  were  found 

on  ;i  single  plant,  it  might  !><•  mentioned  that  not  infrequently  after 

searching  for  the  insects  without  results  one  found  on  each  of  the 
two  adjacent  plants,  while,  a-  in  the  case  for  single  plants  referred 
to  above,  none  could  lie  found  on  any  other  plant-  near  by.  To 

determine  whether  this  gregarious  tendency  i^  due  to  sexual  attrac- 
tion or  to  sight  would  require  more  careful  attention  than  it  was  pos- 
sible to  give  on  the  occasion  on  which  these  observations  were  made. 

Egg  laying. —  All  of  the  ejrirs  of  Pcntutoma  ligata  which  were 
obtained  were  deposited  by  females  in  confinement.  They  were 
deposited  in  batches  of  from  1  s  to  \.\  eir«rs.  One  batch  was  deposited 
on  a  mesquite  leaf,  the  others  <»n  the  bract-  of  cotton  bolls  and  on  cot- 
ton leaves.  It  i>  believed  that  three  and  possibly  four  batches  were 
deposited  by  the  same  female.    The  three  batches  probably  deposited 

by  the  insect  referred  to  numbered  together  ln7  eggS.     A  female  pen- 

tatomid  bug  of  another  genus  |  Podisus)  has  been  known  to  deposit 
nearly  .">()()  e<r^s,  a  fact  which  not  only  gives  weight  to  the  supposi- 
tion that  these  l<»~  or  more  eggs  were  deposited  by  the  one  specimen  of 
/'.  UgatO)  but  which  indicate-  that  this  number  does  not  necessarily 
give  an  k'ea  of  the  maximum  number  a  single  female  may  deposit. 

EGGS. 

The  following  table  show-  the  duration  of  incubation  and  the 
approximate  number  hatching  under  indoor  conditions,  the  last  four 
batches  being  kept  most  of  the  time  in  small  pill  boxes: 

Eyy  laying,  incubation,  and  hatching. 


When  deposited. 

Number 
of  eggs  in 
batch. 

When  hatched. 

X  umber 
hatched. 

Period  of 
incuba- 
tion. 

September  4  

43 
18 
39 
28 
40 

September  10  

21 

24 
14 
21 

Days. 

6 
8 
8 
8 
8 

September  0  

September  14  

Do  

....do  

September  7  

September  15  

Do  

 do  

0  Eleven  eggs  hecanie  separated  from  the  hatch  and  were  lost  before  any  of  th«?m 
hatched. 


28 


The  average  period  of  incubation,  as  shown  by  the  above  figures, 
is  nearly  seven  and  a  half  days  under  the  conditions  noted. 

NYMPHS. 

For  several  hours  after  ha  telling  the  young  nymphs  remain  closely 
clustered  upon  the  top  of  the  egg  batch,  with  scarcely  any  perceptible 
movement.  In  all  cases  where  the  eggs  of  this  species  have  come 
under  the  writer's  observation,  less  than  two-thirds  of  the  total  num- 
ber in  the  batch  have  hatched,  although  those  which  failed  to  hatch 
contained  nymphs.  It  was  found  that,  as  in  many  other  species  of 
pentatomids,  the  nymphs  of  the  first  instar  which  first  hatch  begin 
to  feed,  after  a  few  hours'  quiescence,  upon  the  contents  of  the 
unhatched  eggs.  It  is  not  impossible  that  some  or  all  of  the  nymphs 
thus  fed  upon  were  already  dead.  Some  of  the  nymphs  which  have 
been  observed  obtained  enough  food  from  the  unhatched  eggs  to  pass 
through  the  first  instar.  Others  became  quite  plump  by  feeding  upon 
the  eggs,  but  fed  readily  upon  fresh  cotton  leaves  when  placed  upon 
them.  The  first  molt  occurred  the  seventh  day  after  hatching,  and 
the  second  molt  on  the  third  and  fourth  days  after  the  first.  It  was 
impossible  to  give  the  young  insects  the  attention  necessary  to  breed 
them  to  maturity,  and  all  of  them  died  before  molting  a  third  time. 

IN  J  I  K  Y  TO  COTTON. 
Injury  to  Cotton  at  Tlahualilo  in  100.3. 

As  stated  in  the  introduction,  it  was  estimated  after  a  personal 
examination  of  the  dry  stalks  in  the  cotton  fields  at  Tlahualilo  on 
March  8,  1904,  that  an  average  of  10  to  15  per  cent  of  the  cotton 
bolls  were  injured  by  some  agency  to  the  point  of  worthlessness. 
The  nature  of  much  of  this  injury  was  found  to  be,  to  all  appear- 
ances, identical  with  that  resulting  from  the  attacks  of  the  conehuela, 
as  observed  in  fields  of  growing  cotton  at  Tlahualilo  from  August  ?>0 
(o  September  8.  Concerning  some  of  the  bolls,  there  was  more  doubt 
as  to  the  cause  of  the  injury,  which  consisted  in  the  locks  dying  after 
reaching  a  late  stage  in  their  development.  The  opened  bolls  showed 
more  or  less  stained  fibers  remaining  closely  matted  together,  and  at 
the  extreme  tip  noticeably  shriveled.  In  consideration  of  the  possi- 
bility thai  this  injury  was  due  to  a  vegetable  disease1,  dry  specimens 
were  submitted  to  Dr.  A.  F.  Woods,  pathologist  and  physiologist  of 
the  Bureau  of  Planl  Industry,  with  a  request  that  they  be  examined 
for  evidence  of  trouble  of  (his  nature,  but  it  was  found  that  no  fun- 
gous disease  could  have  been  responsible  for  their  condition.  There 
being  no  evidence  of  a  disease  of  a  bacterial  or  physiological  nature, 
there  is  but  little  doubt  that  the  condition  described  above  is  due  to 


29 


injury  by  heteropterous  insects,  principally  by  the  predominating 
species  in  this  particular  Locality,  Pentatoma  ligata.  The  difference 
in  the  nature  of  the  damage  produced  can  probably  be  explained  by 
the  difference  in  the  degree  of  development  attained  by  the  bolls  be- 
fore they  receive  the  first  injury. 

In.jiky  to  Cotton  a  i  Tlahuaulo  in  1904. 

At  the  time  of  the  second  visit  of  the  w  riter  to  Tlahualilo  it  was 
possible  to  obtain  more  definite  information  concerning  the  character 
of  the  injury  caused  by  the  conehuela.  This  was  done  principally 
by  means  of  tagging  in  the  field  cotton  bolls  known  to  have  been  fed 
upon  more  or  less  by  the  insect. 

External  evidence  of  injury  by  tlii-  bug  never  appears,  except  when 
a  boll  i-  f'cil  upon  when 
very  small  and  one  or  more 
locks  are  injured,  so  that 
growth  ceases  in  the  injured 
port  ions  and  a  deformity  of 
the  boll  results.  The  inner 
side  of  the  carpel-  of  green 
bolls  which  have  been  I'd 
upon    by    the  conehuela 

show   a    minute   dark  spot, 

indicating  the  point  at 
which  t he  -eta  entered,  and 
surrounding  this  may  be  an 
abnormal  wart  like  growth 
which  is  of  more  frequent 
occurrence  in  -mall  bolls, 
or  a  smooth  circular  area 

which   befcomes  dark   green     Pio. 8.— Supposed  work  of  Ppntatoma  ligata  on  cot- 
,       -i        •  i  ton  boll  (from  photo  by  W.  £.  Hinds). 

and  contrasts  sharply  with 

the  Lighter  background.  Large  boll>  nearly  mature  have  been  ex- 
amined with  as  many  as  twenty-five  or  thirty  of  these  spots,  but 
with  uninjured  seeds,  these  probably  having  been  protected  by  the 
resistance  of  the  lint  to  the  entrance  of  the  insect's  mouth  organs. 
This  difficulty  probably  increases  with  the  increasing  age  of  the 
boll.  In  examining  smaller  bolls  it  was  found  that  a  single  spot 
on  the  inside  of  the  carpel  was  good,  though  not  positive,  evidence 
of  injury,  which  could  be  seen  only  by  breaking  open  the  developing 
lock.  In  lields  where  no  bugs  of  any  kind  could  be  found  none  of 
the  bolls  showed  these  >pots,  while  in  every  case  a  certain  injury  to 
seeds  and  surrounding  lint,  which  I  learned  to  ascribe  to  P.  ligata 
and  a   few   less  common  species  of  heteroptera,  was  accompanied 


30 


by  one  or  more  of  these  spots  directly  opposite  on  the  inner  side  of 
the  carpel. 

The  conchuela  usually  inserts  its  mouth  setoe  through  the  carpel 
and  developing  lint  into  the  seed.  An  injured  immature  seed  at  first 
is  characterized  by  a  watery  appearance,  later  it  takes  on  a  brownish 
color  and  appears  decayed,  finally  shriveling.  Two  or  three  clays  after 
the  seed  is  injured  by  the  feeding  of  the  bug,  the  surrounding  lint 
becomes  slightly  discolored.  If  only  a  short  time  was  spent  in  feed- 
ing upon  the  seed  of  a  nearly  matured  boll,  the  injury  consists  simply 
in  a  yellow  staining  of  the  lint,  but  if  the  boll  be  less  than  two-thirds 
grown  the  injury  is  likely  to  be  more  serious.  The  decayed  appear- 
ance then  spreads  throughout  the  lock,  which  shrivels  and  is  spoiled. 
The  observations  thus  far  made  show  that  a  bug  must  spend  at  least 
several  hours  to  destroy  the  usefulness  of  a  lock  of  a  cotton  boll 
instead  of  only  the  few  minutes  necessary  to  deposit  an  egg,  as  is  the 
case  with  a  female  boll  weevil. 

Several  observations  were  made  in  the  field  to  establish  the  con- 
nection between  the  conchuela  and  the  injury  described  above.  A 
few  of  these  will  be  outlined.  Bug  No.  1  was  found  on  a  plant  upon 
which  it  remained  for  over  twenty-four  hours,  it  being  unknown  how 
long  it  might  have  been  on  the  same  plant  previous  to  discovery,  or 
how  many,  if  any,  other  bugs  had  been  present.  On  examination  of 
the  unopened  bolls  it  was  found  that  there  were  uninjured  5,  slightly 
injured  1,  badly  injured  6.  Two  opened  bolls  were  uninjured.  As  a 
check  for  this  plant,  the  bolls  on  the  next  one  in  the  row  were  ex- 
amined, and  of  the  12  unopened  and  3  open  bolls  all  were  perfect. 
This  same  insect  moved  feet  to  another  plant  and  was  found  upon 
the  same  boll  at  each  of  the  several  visits  to  the  field  during  the  fol- 
lowing thirty-six  hours.  The  insect  then  disappeared  and  was  not 
afterwards  found.  An  examination  of  the  15  bolls  on  this  second 
plant  showed  only  2  injured  ones,  the  one  on  which  the  bug  was 
known  to  have  fed  for  thirty-six  hours,  which  was  badly  damaged, 
and  another  the  injury  to  which  was  apparently  caused  by  a  bacterial 
disease  of  the  nature  of  anthracnose. 

On  September  4,  L904,  at  11.45  a.  in.,  two  specimens  of  P.  ligata 
were  found  in  the  cotton  field  on  a  plant,  surrounding  which  for  at 
leasl  50  Peel  in  all  directions  were  plants  which  after  careful  search 
were  found  to  be  free  from  the  insect.  Six  hours  later  two  more 
adults  were  found  on  this  plant,  an  examination  as  before  showing 
the  -iii'rounding  plants  to  be  free.  Two  days  later  the  plant  under 
observation  was  entirely  free  from  the  insects,  and  on  September  8 
all  the  I k jI Is  on  the  plant  were  opened  and  each  lock'  was  examined. 
Of  the  ir>  bolls  7  were  badly  injured;  I  ( 3  of  which  were  produced 
on  the  lower  branches  close  to  the  ground)  were  perfectly  sound  in 
every  way.    As  a  check,  an  examination  was  made  of  the  16  bolls  on 


31 


a  very  similar  plant  standing  3  feet  away  in  the  same  row:  14  of 
these  were  perfect  in  every  way.  1  boll  was  injured  by  a  boll  worm, 
and  the  remaining  injured  boll  had  the  appearance  of  having  been 
fed  upon  when  quite  small  by  P.  ligata  or  some  other  heteropterous 
insect.  One  lock  of  this  boll  was  decidedly  stunted,  giving  it  a  de- 
formed appearance.  The  inside  of  the  carpel  of  the  stunted  portion 
showed  the  characteristic  mark  of  injury  already  described,  as  did 
several  seeds  with  the  surrounding  lint. 

On  September  s  an  examination  was  made  of  the  bolls  of  a  plant 
upon  which  three  specimens  of  P.  ligata  were  taken  on  September  <>. 
As  before,  the  surrounding  plant-  were  five  from  the  in>ects  and  their 
bolls  only  in  few  instances  showed  injury  of  the  nature  described  as 
occasioned  by  this  species.  Of  the  <>}  bolls  over  1  inch  in  diameter 
which  were  on  the  plant,  20  were  -elected  at  random  and  carefully 
examined,  and  l>nt  2  <>f  them  were  found  to  be  uninjured. 

A.s  the  above  observations  might  lead  to  an  exaggerated  idea  of 
the  injury  believed  t<»  be  caused  by  the  insect  here  considered,  it 
should  be  explained  that  in  the  held  where  the  above  instances  oc- 
curred the  conchuelas  at  the  time  were  more  abundant  than  elsewhere 
on  the  plantation,  and  even  here  (with  the  exception  of  a  limited 

area)  on  not  more  than  5  <>r  ('»  stalks  to  an  acre  could  the  insects  he 

found.  The  observations  indicate,  however,  that  when  they  are  very 
numerous  the  conchuelas  are  capable  of  causing  considerable  damage 

to  the  cotton  crOp. 

The  exceptional  area  referred  to  above  consisted  <d'  about  800 
square  feet  in  the  cotton  field,  which  was  slightly  lower  than  the 
genera]  level.  The  plant-  were  consequently  growing  more  vigor- 
ously, and  more  adult  conchuelas  were  found  at  work  here  than  else- 
where. An  examination  of  all  the  bolls  over  1  inch  in  diameter  on 
!()  representative  -talk-  showed  that  :'>.">  per  cent  of  them  were  injured, 
and  of  the  open  bolls  on  these  plant-  L9  per  cent  had  at  least  one  lock 

damaged  by  shriveling,  apparently  caused  by  the  attack  of  a  heterop- 
terous insect. 

AjS  a  check'  to  this  examination.  30  boll.-,  from  one-third  to  throe- 
fourth-  grown,  were  examined  on  a  portion  of  the  plantation  which 
was  remarkably  free  from  insects,  and  w  here  no  heteropterous  insects 
of  any  kind  could  be  found.  Each  lock  in  each  boll  was  carefully 
examined  a-  before,  with  the  result  that  only  2  bolls  were  found  to 
show  the  slightest  internal  discoloration,  and  this  did  not  extend  to 
the  seed,  nor  was  it  accompanied  by  the  spot  on  the  inside  of  the 
carpel,  which  the  evidence  obtained  -howed  to  result  from  the  punc- 
ture of  P.  ligata. 

Cage  experiments  were  conducted  for  the  purpose  of  learning  how 
long  after  a  boll  is  fed  upon  the  injury  become-  apparent  and 
also  how  long  feeding  must  be  continued  to  work  an  injury.  Neither 


32 


ot  those  points  was  satisfactorily  determined,  owing  to  the  brief 
period  available  for  this  investigation.  As  has  been  stated,  the  size 
of  the  boll  is  an  important  factor;  probably  a  single  bug  in  a  few 
hours,  or  perhaps  minutes,  can  produce  an  injury  to  a  boll  one-fourth 
or  one-third  grown  which  will  prevent  its  developing  perfect  lint. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  seems  that  after  the  lint  reaches  a  certain  degree 
of  development,  perhaps  when  the  boll  is  about  three-fourths  grown, 
it  is  beyond  the  limit  of  danger  of  serious  injury  from  the  conchuela. 
The  following  records  show  the  only  information  obtained  from  the 
cage  tests  relating  to  the  question  of  how  long  after  being  attacked, 
the  injury  to  the  boll  appears: 


Results  of  cage  tests  with  Pentatoma  Ugata,  190J/. 


Cage 
No. 

Num- 
ber of 
bugs. 

Apparent- 
ly sound 
bolls. 

When  caged. 

When  examined. 

Injured 
bolls. 

Severely 
injured 
bolls. 

1 

2 

5 
6 

8 

26 

Sept  ember  3  

September  4 

September  7  

do   ___ 

4 
16 

2 
0 

The  cage  tests  were  made  in  a  portion  of  the  plantation  apparently 
free  from  the  conchuela  and  other  bugs,  and  where  no  injury  to  bolls 
could  be  found  which  was  likely  to  have  been  caused  by  such  insects. 


Relation  of  Mesquite  to  Infested  Fields. 

The  co;ichuela  is  believed  by  Mr.  Conduit  to  be  identical  with  an 
insect  which  breeds  upon  mesquite  beans."  In  the  early  summer  of 
190)).  owing  to  specially  favorable  weather  conditions  the  crop  of 
mesquite  beans  was  unusually  large,  and  it  is  generally  believed  in 
the  Laguna  district  that  an  unusually  large  number  of  the  conchuelas 
developed  in  the  mesquite,  and  upon  the  maturing  and  drying  of  the 
beans  the  insects  made  their  way  into  the  cotton  fields  in  correspond- 
ingly large  numbers.  ISoth  of  the  writer's  visits  to  Tlahualilo,  made 
at  times  when  there  were  no  green  mesquite  beans,  and  no  specimens 
of  P.  Ugata  could  be  found  in  the  mesquite  or  anywhere  else  except 
in  the  cotton  fields,  nor  could  any  remains  of  their  immature  stages 
be  round,  except  a  batch  of  eggs  from  which  the  nymphs  had  emerged, 
which  was  found  on  the  ground  among  the  dead  leaves  on  March  8. 

Although  no  direct  evidence  could  be  obtained  concerning  the  origin 
of  the  large  numbers  of  the  insects  which  infested  the  cotton  fields 
in  1903,  tlx'  statements'  of  Mr.  Conduit  concerning  the  portions  of 
the  estate  where  the  insects  occurred  in  greatest  numbers,  both  in 
1903  and  L904,  seem  to  show  a  connection  between  these  portions  and 
I  he  parts  of  the  uncultivated  land  surrounding  the  estate  on  all  sides, 
upon  which  the  mesquite  growth  was  most  abundant. 

"  Since  the  above  was  written  this  has  heeh  verified  hy  the  writer. 


33 


Injury  to  Cotton  at  Tlahi  alii.o.  Mkxico,  by  other  Heteroptera. 

The  injury  to  cotton  by  P.  Ugata  is  probably  the  same  a>  might 
result  from  the  attacks  of  many  other  heteropterous  insects.  Several 
specie-  of  pentatomid  bugs  were  collected  feeding  on  cotton  bolls. 

hut  uouc  were  numerous  enough  to  cause  appreciable  damage.  Next 
to  P.  Ogata,  the  most  abundant  beteropteron  found  feeding  on  cotton 
bolls  was  Leptoglo88UB  sonatus  DalL  The  injury  found  on  the  ex- 
amination of  boll>  upon  which  bugs  of  the  latter  species  had  been 
feeding  I  was  unable  to  distinguish  from  that  resulting  from  the 
feeding  of  the  former.  The  individuals  of  the  above  coreid  were  not 
common  enough  in  the  cotton  field-  during  the  first  few  days  of  Sep- 
tember to  interfere  with  observations  on  the  conchuela.  The  fol- 
lowing heteroptera.  in  addition  to  the  species  above  mentioned,  were 
found  on  cotton  at  Xlahualilo  between  August  31  and  September  B, 
1(J04.    For  their  identification  the  writer  is  indebted  to  Mr.  (  ).  I  Ieide- 

niiiiin.  of  the  Bureau  of  Entomology :  Apiomeru*  spisstpes  Say. 
Zelus  /■<  nardii  KoL,  Largtn  ductus  11.  S..  Oncopeltus  fasciatus  DalL. 
Mut'(jantin  Jiistrionira  Ilahn.  and  TJiy<tnt<t  pcrditot  Fab. 

I.n.hkv  §1  mis  AM)  other  PENTATOMIDS  in  i  hk  I'mikh  Si  axes. 

The  species  bere  considered  ha-  been  taken  on  cotton  in  our  own 

cotton  State-,  but  neither  it  nor  any  other  pentatomid  has  ever,  SO 
far  as  the  writer  can  learn,  proved  of  much  consequence  as  a  pest  in 
the  cotton  fields.  The  eggs  of  pentatomids  are  attacked  by  several 
hymenopterous  parasites,  which  probably  more  than  any  other  factor 
prevent  many  of  the  species  from  becoming  serious  pe>t>.  Occa- 
sionally, however,  we  find  reports  of  a  species  of  this  family,  pre- 
viously unknown  except,  perhaps,  for  a  scientific  description,  spring- 
ing suddenly  into  prominence  as  a  pest  in  one  locality  or  another 
and  the  following  season  becoming  of  the  same  slight  importance  as 
usual.  An  instance  of  this  kind  i>  briefly  mentioned  in  a  previous 
bulletin  of  this  Bureau."  Pentatoma  sayi  Stal  being  there  referred  to 
as  appearing  as  a  serious  wheat  pest  in  Colorado.  Arizona,  and  New 
Mexico  in  the  summer  of  1903.  Many  pentatomids  and  other  heter- 
opterous insects,  which  probably  all  cause  damage  to  cotton  similar  to 
that  of  P.  ligata,  occur  in  the  cotton  fields  in  this  country.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  this  species  may  be  sporadically  of  more  or  less  importance 
locally,  especially  under  circumstances  where,  by  the  unavoidable 
Losses  occasioned  by  the  boll  weevil,  the  small  margin  of  profit  makes 
it  necessary  to  reduce  to  the  Lowest  practicable  limit  injuries  from  the 
minor  pests.  Assuming  the  truth  of  the  report  that  this  species 
breeds  upon  mesquite  beans,  it  is  evidently  much  more  likely  to 


■  Bulletin  No.  44,  Division  of  Entomology,  p.  86. 
28730— No.  54—05  II  3 


34 


appear  in  cotton  fields  in  injurious  numbers  in  such  irrigated  dis- 
tricts as  the  Laguna  of  Mexico,  where,  when  their  chief  food  supply 
in  the  desert  becomes  unfit  for  them,  they  are  driven  to  the  cotton 
plants  from  necessity,  there  being  almost  nothing  else  available  for 
food.  In  other  localities  the  insects  might  become  widely  distributed 
among  various  crops  and  only  small  injury  be  done  to  any  one  of 
them. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  CONTROL. 

As  these  insects  in  the  cotton  field  almost  invariably  occupy  a 
conspicuous  position  on  the  cotton  plant,  usually  on  a  boll,  there  is 
little  trouble  for  even  an  inexperienced  person  to  find  them  when 
present.  Their  habit  of  segregation  is  of  much  importance  in  this  con- 
nection. Whenever  they  become  abundant  enough  to  deserve  atten- 
tion from  the  cotton  grower,  hand  picking,  or  knocking  into  collect- 
ing pans  containing  oil,  will  probably  be  preferable  to  spraying  with 
contact  insecticides,  the  value  of  the  former  depending  in  a  measure 
upon  the  availability  of  cheap  labor.  Clearing  up  the  fields  in  the 
fall,  destroying  both  the  cotton  stalks  and  the  weeds  surrounding  the 
fields  by  burning,  would  prevent,  in  a  large  measure,  the  hibernation 
of  this,  as  well  as  many  other  cotton  pests,  and  constitutes  a  practice 
the  adoption  of  which  by  all  cotton  growers  is  strongly  urged  by  eco- 
nomic entomologists.  It  may  be  advisable  under  some  circumstances 
to  provide  for  the  treatment  of  the  conchuelas  on  mesquite  trees  when 
it  is  found  that  they  are  developing  thereon  in  threatening  numbers, 
and  when  experience  shows  that  these  trees  growing  close  to  cotton 
fields  are  an  element  of  danger,  it  might  even  be  good  policy  to  remove 
them  entirely. 

THE  SUGAR-BEET  CROWN-BORER. 

(Hulstea  undulatella  Clemens.) 
By  E.  S.  (i.  Titus. 

While  investigating  the  general  insect  enemies  of  the  sugar  beet 
the  past  season  (1904),  the  writer  found  at  Waverly,  Wash.,  Echo, 
Oreg.,  and  Spreckles  and  Oxnard,  Cal.,  evidences  of  an  in  jury  to  sugar 
beets  that  could  not  be  traced  to  any  insect  at  that  time  occurring 
in  the  fields.  The  injury  at  these  places  was  quite  local,  usually 
occurring  in  small  patches  over  some  of  the  fields,  and  was  most 
noticeable  on  the  richer  soils.  The  beets  had  been  injured  earlier 
in  the  year  and  their  growth  practically  stopped.  Some  of  (he  tops 
had  lived  on  for  some  time,  but  had  eventually  dried  down.  When 
these  were  lifted  only  a  small  portion  of  the  beet  usually  came  with 
them,  and  this  a  rather  ragged  portion  of  the  crown.  Digging  into 
the  soil,  the  remainder  of  the  root  could  usually  be  found,  shriveled 
and  dried  up,  but  rarely  showing  marks  of  injury. 


Vacant  -paces  could  be  seen  extending  sometimes  10  or  15  feet  down 
a  row  and  covering  an  area  from  '2  to  .*>  row-  wide.  Those  few 
injured  beets  that  had  survived  the  attack  were  dry.  almost  lifeless, 
the  leaves  being  small  and  the  root  of  no  value. 

rpon  reaching  the  Santa  Ana  Valley  and  neighboring  beet  regions 
in  southern  California,  especially  at  Chino,  the  work  of  tin-  insect 
became  more  common  and  the  damage  in  place-  was  quite  severe. 
The  owners  attributed  the  loss  to  plant  lice  and  cut  worm-,  but  a  very 
slight  examination  was  sufficient  to  -how  that  the  beets  had  been 
attacked  by  some  borer,  and  that  work  on  them  was  -till  in  progress. 
At  Huntington  Beach,  near  Los  Angeles,  ami  at  Chino,  the  Larvae 
causing  the  injury  were  found  in  several  fields,  ami  at  the  latter 
place  moth-,  which  later  proved  to  be  the  adult  form  of  this  phycitid 
borer,  were  rather  common  in  one  field  on  the  beet-sugar  company's 
ground. 

Prom  examination  of  the  beet-  it  i-  evident  that  the  young  larva 

at    first    WOlk-   oli    the    beet    jll-t  he- 
low  the  bases  of  the  Leaves,  eating 
through  the  (Miter  -kin  and  either        n  ,     ^  x 
boring    directly    into    the    beet    or  ^t^^1^^^2^^L^^-^^^ 

working  it-  w  ay  around  the  crown  •>  'Mfv-. 

beneath  the  epidermi-.  thu-  making  »^  Li  "•■Aj^J?f 

a  swollen  line  that  ha-  the  appeal--  W  ^ 

ance   of   a    mine,   often   much  like- 
early  work  of  Pegomya  VtCtfM  and  v?*^ >.,f..:rri -  •• ; v-;v>rf- 
similar  species   mining   in   Leaves.  ^^h^^iij^^ci^^^' 


As  the  larva  grows  in  Size  it  forces 
•  i  g    .i  i  j?    .  i  *i        Fi<i.  9. — HtUttea  undulatella:  adult  and 

its  way  farther  and  farther  into  the  larva_nW,>(1  ,orifdnaR 

beet  until  it  reaches  t  he  center,  when 

it  may  bore  directly  downward  or  pa>s  on  through  the  beet  and 
then  return  and  feed  up  and  down  inside  the  root.  In  all  the  gal- 
leries examined  I  found  more  or  less  evidence  of  a  silken  tube. 
Those  of  the  older  larva1  that  wore  feeding  on  the  outside  of  the 
beet  had  constructed  tube-  covering  their  operations  and  protecting 
them  from  contact  with  the  soil.  Sometime-  these  tubes  extended 
for  a  considerable  distance  away  from  the  beet.  These  tubes  are 
very  fragile,  and  not  nearly  so  firm  in  construction  as  those  made 
for  hibernating  purposes  by  the  su<rard)eet  webworm  (Loxostege 
sticticalis) . 

Several  larva'  were  usually  found  attacking  a  single  beet.  and.  from 
the  fact  that  tubes  were  found  extending  from  beet  to  beet  down  the 
row-,  it  is  probable  that  the  larva1  after  killing  one  beet  may  pass  on 
to  another  one  in  which  they  will  complete  their  growth.  Pupre 


37 


There  are  apparently  two  broods  of  this  insect,  eggs  being  laid 
in  early  spring  upon  the  young  beets  and  the  adult  appearing  in  June 
or  July,  when  the  second  brood  eggs  are  laid.  The  larva4  of  the  second 
brood  develop  and  l>ecoine  full  grown  in  the  fall,  and  probably  most 
of  the  adult-  emerge  at  this  time,  although  two  of  the  larva-  taken  last 
October  are  still  (  April  1 )  in  that  stage  in  our  breeding  cage-.  It  may 
be  that  in  southern  California  the  adult  emerge-  in  the  fall  and  lays 
egg-  on  some  native  food  plant.  Adult-  were  quite  common  in  that 
region  in  late  September,  especially  in  the  early  evening  before  dark. 
They  would  fly  quickly  when  disturbed,  but  only  for  short  distances, 
and  u-ually  alighted  on  the  under  -ide  of  beet  leave-  or  on  the  ground, 
the  color  of  which  they  clo-ely  resemble.  Some  minute  white  eggs 
were  found  at  the  ba-e-  of  leave-  of  beet-,  which  may  belong  to  this 
species  or  to  the  tortricid  mentioned  below. 

This  moth  ha-  a  wide  distribution,  having  been  taken  in  many 
part-   of   the  United 
States.   Specimens  in  the 
National    &fuseum  bear 

label-  from  the  follow- 
ing 1  oca lities:  Maine 
<  Packard)  :  Massachu- 
setts :  New  York  (  Bur* 
pet(  )  :  Angle-a.  X.  .1.. 
J  ii  lie  23  I  K  ea  rfoot)  ; 
Hastings,  Fla..  April 
(  Kearfoot  i  :  Wisconsin  : 
Stockton.  I 'tab.  numer- 
ous specimens,  date-. 

dune  :M.  •_".».  AngUSl  1.  6, 
7.  B,  11.  28,  and  Septem- 
ber l.  B,  1 1  i  Tom  Spald- 
ing) :  I  Denver,  ( !olo.,  May 
1.  1.').  and  September  L5 : 
Pueblo,  Colo..  July 
(  Kearfoot  )  :  Pullman, 
Wash.  (Piper):  Kaslo,  British  Columbia  (I)yar  &  Oaudell)  :  San 
Francisco,  Santa  Clara,  and  Alameda.  Cal.  (Koebele):  Williams, 
Ariz..  July  7.  10,  28  ( Schwarz  &  Barber)  :  Flagstaff,  Ariz..  July  8, 
-24  (Barber);  Sapello  Canyon,  N.  Mex.  (Oslar).  The  species  was 
described  by  Clemens"  under  the  genus  Xephopteryx  in  I860  from 
specimens  "  From  Dr.  Charles  Girard.  Washington,  D.  C.  Pennsyl- 
vania. Canada,  and  Massachusetts." 

The  statement  that  the  insect  was  reared  from  elm.  which  has 


Fig.  11. 


-LTi>]*.»r  portion  of  l>eet  injured  by  Hulstea 
tmduiaUUa  (original). 


a  I860 :  Clemens,  Proc  Acad.  Nat  Sc.  Phila.,  p.  205. 


38 


several  times  been  accredited  to  Clemens,  has  very  little  foundation. 
Following  his  description  he  says: 

Early  in  October  I  found  the  pupa  of  this  insect  at  Niagara  Falls,  on  the 
Canada  side,  under  shelter  of  loosened  portions  of  the  hark  of  American  elm. 
They  were  inclosed  in  a  cocoon  of  silk,  mixed  with  particles  of  bark.  On  the 
same  tree  I  took  a  number  of  larva'  which  were  ascending  the  tree  to  undergo 
pupation.  I  did  not,  however,  obtain  imagoes  from  any  of  the  specimens. 
The  body  was  nearly  uniform  in  diameter,  with  the  ordinary  number  of  feet. 
Head  as  broad  as  the  body  and  dark  green.  Body  dark  green,  between  the  seg- 
ments yellowish  and  dotted  with  yellow  ;  first  rings  with  two  black  dots  on  the 
sides. 

Doctor  Hulst,a  after  giving  the  following  localities  for  this  spe- 
cies— "  Canada,  Massachusetts.  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Illinois, 
Virginia,  Texas,  Colorado,  Utah,  California  " — states  that  he  has 
received  it  from  Texas  in  August  and  September,  and  then  quotes 
Clemens's  remarks  given  above,  but  omits  the  important  statement 
that  no  specimens  were  bred  to  maturity.  The  other  published  ref- 
erences to  the  species  simply  record  it  as  feeding  on  elm,  an  error 
evidently  derived  from  the  original  reference  or  from  Doctor  Hulst's 
paper. 

Doctor  Clemens's  description  of  the  larva  he  found  does  not  accord 
with  the  larva?  taken  on  sugar  beet,  and  from  which  specimens  were 
bred  that  were  identified  by  Dr.  H.  G.  Dyar,  of  the  United  States 
National  Museum,  as  belonging  to  this  species.  Our  larva'  when 
fully  mature  were  16  to  18  mm.  in  length,  head  slightly  narrower 
than  first  segment  following;  pale  brown  in  color,  darker  on  tip 
of  clypeus  and  tips  of  mandibles,  antenna?  and  palpi  paler,  almost 
yellow;  body  varying  from  pale  green  to  dirty  yellow,  paler  be- 
tween segments,  usually  a  single  black  dot  on  each  side  of  the  first 
segment ;  feet  all  tipped  with  black.  The  larva  is  very  transparent, 
so  that  the  internal  anatomy  is  clearly  visible. 

The  adult  measures  12  to  16  mm.  across  wings  when  fully  spread. 
Fore  wings  dark  gray,  varying  to  a  pale  gray,  with  traces  of 
fuscous  and  black  scales  interspersed,  a  red  spot  usually  present 
within  (he  basal  line,  irregular  dentate  lines  along  outer  margin  are 
darker:  hind  wings  dark  fuscous,  shading  out  darker  on  outer  mar- 
gin, fringe  very  pale;  thorax  with  a  dark  spot  on  each  side  near 
front:  abdomen  varying  from  gray  to  almost  black:  antenna  gray, 
hall*  the  length  of  the  fore  wing:  palpi  varying  from  white  to 
brownish  red,  darker  at  tip. 

Many  of  the  larva*  or  pupa1  were  parasitized.  A  dipterous  para- 
site was  identified  by  Mr.  I).  W.  Coquilletl  as  Exorista  pu><t<'  Walk. 


"  1S!>0:   HulBt,  Trans.  Anicr.  Fait.  Soc,  v.  17,  pp.  187-188. 


39 


Fi«i.  VL-  Kanritia  pytn  much  enlarged  (original 


( fig.  12).  Tt  bred  from  pupse  taken  a<  Chino  and  Oxnard,  Cal.  This 
parasite  was  also  reared  from  the  pupae  of  an  unidentified  tortricid 
found  feeding  on  the  leaves  of  sugar  beet  at  the  same  places.  Three 
specie-  of  Ilymenop- 
terous  parasites  were 
reared,  but  with  the 
exception  of  the  one 
noted  below  it  was  im- 
possible to  tell  whether 
they  were  bred  from 
larvae  or  pupae.  They 
were  identified  by  Dr. 
W.  H.  Ashmead,  of 
the  Dhited  States  Na- 
tional Museum,  as 
( 'In  Ion  us  i  rid  t  set  a  s 
Or.,  SpUocTialcvi  tor- 
vino  Or.,  and  Hcibro- 

b/'tn on  In  ht  tin'  Say. 

Specimen-  of  Che* 
loti  us  hridi  Sd  ii  i  ( fig. 
13),  issued  from  pupa* 

of  the  crown  borer  in  early  October.  This  parasite  is  represented  in 
the  National  Museum  collections  by  specimens  from  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, Mich. :  Washington,  I  >.  ( !. ;  South  I  takota  ;  Colorado;  Wyoming; 

Corvallis,  ( tareg. :  ( Sar- 
land.  I'tah :  Kukak 
Bay,  Alaska;  Easton, 

Wash.,  and  San  I  >iegO, 

( The  last  of  these 
specimens  (bearing 
the  T.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 
No.  7«>7I>  )  was  bred 
from  a  phyticid  larva 
(or  from  the  pupa) 
found  feeding  in  the 
seed  pods  of  Aphyllon 
tuberosum.  This  spe- 
cies is  entirely  black 
except  the  legs,  which 
are  marked  with  pale 
yellow:  about  -1-  mm. 

in  length :  very  rugosely  punctured  on  thorax  with  longitudinal  stria* 
on  abdomen. 

But  one  specimen  of  HabroSracon  hebetor  Say  was  reared  from  the 


Fig.  13. — Chetomu  iridetcen* — greatly  enlarged  (original). 


40 


crown  borer;  this  issued  October  5,  1905.  This  species  has  been 
reared  from  several  of  the  flour  and  meal  moths  a  in  this  country.  A 
European  species,  Bracon  brevicornis  Wesm.,  is,  as  stated  by  Dr.  Chit- 
tenden, quite  probably  a  synonym  of  Say's  species.  It  has  been 
reared  from  two  species  of  Ephestia  and  from  lepidopterous  larvae  in 
Europe.  The  species  has  black  antennae,  head,  and  thorax ;  abdomen 
fuscous ;  leg  more  or  less  pale  yellow ;  femora  usually  black  at  base ; 
ovipositor  of  female  black. 

Spilochalcis  torvina  (fig.  14)  was  bred  from  the  crown  borer,  and 
also  from  pupae  of  the  unidentified  tortricid  before  mentioned  from 
Chino,  Cal.,  in  early  October.  This  dainty  little  chalcid  is  jet  black, 
with  many  pale  markings,  though  usually  there  is  a  brownish-red 

shading  from  white  into  the  black; 
the  abdomen  is  somewhat  fuscous 
on  the  side  beneath. 

REMEDIES. 

Cultural  remedies  tending  to 
thoroughly  disturb  the  soil  at  the 
time  the  larvae  are  nearly  mature 
and  destruction  of  the  beets  show- 
ing injury  will  doubtless  aid  the 
control  of  this  pest.  It  will  com- 
plete the  destruction  of  the  injured 
beet,  since  the  larvae  will  in  all 
probability  breed  out  even  if  the 
beets  are  removed  from  the  soil. 
A  more  complete  study  of  the  life  history  of  the  insect  may  show 
opportunity  for  other  remedies. 


Fig.  14. — Spilochalcis  torvina— much  en- 
larged (original). 


THE  DOCK  FALSE-WORM. 

{Taxonus  nigrisoma  Nort.) 
By  P.  H.  Chittenden  and  E.  S.  (J.  Titus. 

September  5  and  fi.  1004,  the  junior  writer  observed  larvae  of  this 
species  of  tenthredinid  at  Menominee,  Mich.,  attacking  sugar  beet 
and  a  yellow  dock  {Rumex  patientia  or  brittanicus) . 

The  larva*  were  feeding  on  the  upper  sides  of  the  leaves,  usually 
placing  themselves  parallel  with  the  larger  veins;  often  several 
larvae  were  found  feeding  side  by  side,  reminding  one  of  colonies 
of  the  grape  social  caterpillar  (Harrisina  [Procris]  americana  Guer.). 
From  6  to  20  larvae  were  counted  on  single  leaves  both  of  sugar 
beei  and  dock,  and  as  many  as  TO  were  taken  from  a  single  plant. 


1807,  Chittenden.  Bui.  8,  n.  s..  Div.  En toni.,  Dept.  of  Agric,  pi>-  39-41. 


41 


They  are  quite  active,  readily  curling  up  when  disturbed  and  usually 
rolling  down  the  leaf  into  the  mass  of  young  leaves  at  the  base.  It 
is  interesting  to  note  that  larvae  were  also  active  in  confinement,  but 
not  easily  di-turbed.  not  culling  up  unless  considerably  agitated. 
This  was  doubtless  due  to  the  handling  they  had  received  in  packing 
and  unpacking  and  to  the  jarring  incident  to  their  long  journey,  all  of 
which  had  the  effect  of  causing  them  to  be  less  easily  disturbed  than 
under  norma]  condition-. 

Dock  was  rathci-  scarce  in  the  field  at  this  time,  the  beets  having 
been  recently  cultivated,  and  their  leave-  at  this  season  of  the  year 
-o  covered  the  ground  that  the  young  dock  leaves  had  not  had  oppor- 
tunity for  growth.  It  is  probable  that  the  larva'  on  the  bee!  leaves 
had  been  hatched  from  egg-  deposited  OD  dock,  and  that  they  had 


h'u,.  15.-   ITurOJttM  Higriaoma :  n.  adult  ;  h.  larva  :  <•.  hoad  <>f  same;  </.  cocimui  in  stalk  —  all 

enlarged  (original). 

resorted  to  the  former  when  the  dock  was  cut  down.  Several  beet 
plants  were  -ecu  that  had  been  -eriously  injured,  and  the  dock  leaves 
remaining  in  the  fields  were  /iddJcd.  Dock  plant-  growing  along 
roadsides  and  in  uncultivated  fields  were  not  infested.  The  larvae 
-ecu  showed  a  preference  for  leaves  more  or  less  protected  by  other 
leaves;  they  usually  rest  flat  on  the  leaf,  but  some  were  noticed 
-lightly  curled  when  resting  near  the  edges. 

At  this  time  the  larvae  belonged  to  several:  stages,  three  at  least, 
one  being  the  mature  stage. 

DESCRIPTION. 

Mature  larva. — The  prevailing  color  of  the  mature  larva  is  leaf 
green,  -lightly  paler  than  that  of  either  of  the  leave-  on  which  it 
feeds,  thi-  paleness  being,  perhaps,  due  to  the  presence  of  a  faint 


42 


bloom  on  the  surface.  The  larva  is  of  the  normal  tenthredinid  form, 
the  surface  not  very  strongly  wrinkled,  G-annulate,  smooth,  and  not 
shining;  the  head  is  pale,  nearly  white,  or  pale  green  tinged  with 
brown,  clypeus  with  a  distinct  brown  spot,  a  brown  band  sometimes 
present  above  the  clypeus,  head  usually  darker  on  the  upper  third; 
eyes  black,  mouth-parts  dark  brown,  tips  of  mandibles  darker;  the 
lateral  surface,  as  well  as  the  lower,  varies  from  pale  yellowish  to 
pale  but  distinct  green,  this  color  extending  from  the  line  of  the  spir- 
aeles,  the  darker  coloration  of  the  dorsal  surface  often  almost  envelop- 
ing the  spiracles;  body  slightly  brownish  in  the  folds;  spiracles 
small,  elongate-oval,  black.  Segment  13  is  much  paler  dorsally  than 
the  remaining  segments.  Besides  the  three  pairs  of  nearly  white 
thoracic  legs,  which  are  more  or  less  infuscated  at  the  sutures,  there 
are  eight  pairs  of  abdominal  legs  (segments  6  to  13),  which  are  also 
pale.  Length,  13  mm. ;  width,  nearly  uniform  from  the  second 
thoracic  to  the  antepenultimate  segment,  1.5  to  2  mm. 

Antepenultimate  stage. — What  appears  to  be  the  antepenultimate 
stage  closely  resembles  the  mature  form,  but  is  less  greenish  in  color 
and  has  a  proportionately  larger  head.  In  this  stage,  larva?  are  pale 
green,  with  a  somewhat  irregular,  ill-defined,  broad,  darker  green 
space  on  the  sides  just  above  the  spiracles;  white  piliferous  tubercles, 
somewhat  faint,  but  quite  noticeable  in  living  specimens,  occur  in  this 
stage.    Length,  10  to  11  mm. ;  width,  1.2  mm. 

Younger  stage. — A  still  earlier  stage  was  represented  by  very  few 
specimens  and  was  very  much  darker.  Dorsal  surface  pale  brown, 
shading  into  black  at  the  sides;  piliferous  tubercles  distinct,  large 
and  white,  arranged  in  regular  sets;  head  almost  uniformly  dark 
brown.    Length,  7  to  10  mm.;  width,  0.9  to  1  mm. 

Larvae  placed  in  a  rearing  cage  in  the  insectary  did  not  feed  on 
sugar-beet  leaves,  but  when  dock  was  substituted  fed  until  maturity. 
From  these  l;irv;e  three  adults  issued  September  24.  Larvae  kept  by 
the  junior  author  witli  him  on  his  trip  westward  wTere  confined  in  a 
small  tin  box  and  fed  on  beet  leaves.  From  these  one  adult  issued 
October  3.  The  larva  from  which  this  adult  came  formed  a  naked 
pupa  in  the  box  September  23,  and  this  pupa  was  kept  wrapped  in  a 
beet  leaf  until  the  adult  issued. 

The  pupa. — The  pupa  is  at  first  pale  green,  with  dark  extremities 
and  tips  of  feet  and  palpi  brownish.  Before  the  adult  emerges  the 
pupa  darkens  considerably.    Length,  10  mm. 

The  nil  nil. — The  general  appearance  of  the  adult  sawfly  and  the 
arrangement  of  the  venation  of  (he  wings  is  shown  by  figure  15,  a. 
A  brief  characterization  of  the  genus  was  given  by  Norton  in  1868,° 


a  Trans.  Amer.  Ent.  Soc.,  Vol.  1 1,  p.  211. 


43 


with  a  description  of  the  adult.  As  the  latter  i>  also  brief,  it  is  tran- 
scribed herewith.    The  original  description  appeared  in  L862.fl 

9.  Color  Mae  blade;  abdomen  rattier  long,  fattened,  acnte;  antenna?  slender, 
baaal  joint  enlarged,  third  longer  than  fourth,  apical  Joint  as  long  as  the  preced- 
ing; clypenfl  ttngulate  emarginate;  labram  and  baae  of  mandibles  pale  rufous; 
1»  i:s  rufous  or  boncy  yellow;  base  of  coxa*  and  tarsi  black;  wings  faintly 
clouded,  stigma  and  costa  black. 

The  length  of  tho  body,  including  the  head,  is  three-tenths  of  an# 
inch,  and  the  expanded  wings  measure  double  that,  three-fifths  or 
about  five-eighths  of  an  inch  in  length.    Tho  type  locality  is  Dorches- 
ter, Mass.    It  has  also  been  reported  from  Canada  by  Provancher 
and  from  New  York  City  by  II.  <».  I>var. 

This  species  has  been  reared  by  Doctor  Dyar  from  larrse  taken  in 
New  York  City  feeding  on  Rumea  -p.'  and  knot  weed  (Polygonum 
lapathifolium  ):  and  the  larvae  have  been  described  by  him  under  the 
name  Strongylogaster  ahnormis  Prov.  (a  synonym). 

Quite  recently  Dr.  .lame-  Fletcher  ha-  mentioned  the  occurrence  of 
this  species  in  Canada.  During  ll>02  the  larvae  were  reported  in  sev- 
eral localities  in  western  Ontario,  a-  also  at  Ottawa,  Injuring  apples, 
the  damage  being  of  ^<>  serious  a  nature  that  the  fruit  was  much  dis- 
figured and  in  many  instances  it  was  rendered  unlit  for  market  and 
was  fed  to  pigs.  The  larva-  have  also  been  observed  feeding  on 
Rumex  and  Polygonum  in  Canada.  ' 

REM  BOIES. 

The  remedy  is  to  prevent  the  growth  of  dock  and  knotweed  in  beet 
fields  and  apple  orchard-,  a  matter  not  difficult  of  accomplishment  if 
the  weed-  are  hoed  out  in  spring  before  the  sawflies  appear  for  ovipo- 
sition. 

THE  PEPPER  WEEVIL. 

(Anthonontut  ttweotinctut  champ.) 
By  c.  M.  Walker,  Temporary  Field  Agent* 

October  2G.  1004.  Mr.  J.  F.  Nooe,  Boerne,  Tex.,  brought  to  the 
writer's  attention  specimens  of  sweet  peppers  which  were  infested 
with  a  species  of  Anthonomus.  The  close  resemblance  which  this 
insect  bears  to  the  Mexican  cotton-boll  weevil  has  given  rise  to  some 
confusion  regarding  the  two  species  on  the  part  of  those  interested 
in  the  growing  of  the  affected  crop. 

"  Proc.  Boston  Soc.  Nat.  Hist..  Vol.  IX.  p.  110. 
&  Trans.  Anier.  Ent.  Soc,  Vol.  XXII,  p.  311,  1895. 
cjour.  X.  V.  Ent  Soc,  Vol.  V.  p.  199,  1897. 

a  Pail.  40,  Div.  Ent..  U.  S.  Dept.  Agric,  p.  81  (1903)  :  34th  Ann.  Kept.  Eut.  Soc. 
Ont,  1903  [1904J,  p.  70:  1.  c  1902  [1903]— brief  mention. 


44 


DETERMINATION  OF  THE  SPECIES. 


Specimens  of  the  pepper  weevil  Avere  submitted  to  Mr.  Schwarz, 
who  reports  as  follows: 

It  is  a  species  of  Anthonomus  hitherto  not  recorded  from  the  United  States, 
and  is  no  doubt  A.  wneotinetus,  described  by  Mr.  G.  C.  Champion  in  the  Biologia 
Centrali-Americana.«'  The  few  specimens  found  at  San  Antonio  in  November  by 
Mr.  Walker  and  myself  on  pepper  plants  agree  perfectly  with  Champion's 
description.  However,  all  the  numerous  specimens  bred  by  Mr.  Walker  from 
pepper  plants  at  Boerne,  Tex.,  uniformly  differ  in  having  the  legs  throughout  of 
a  bright  orange-yellow  coi<3r,  whereas  in  the  more  typical  specimens  the  thighs 
are  dark  except  at  base.  The  difference,  striking  as  it  is,  is  most  probably  due 
to  the  immature  condition  of  the  Boerne  specimens  and  the  mature  condition  of 

the  types.  The  pepper  weevil,  which  is  often  con- 
founded by  farmers  with  the  cotton-boll  weevil,  is 
much  smaller  and  much  shorter  than  the  smallest 
specimens  of  the  cotton-boll  weevil.  The  legs  are 
much  shorter ;  the  elytra  are  more  convex  and  much 
less  elongate  than  in  the  cotton-boll  weevil ;  and, 
more  especially,  the  front  legs  do  not  have  a  double 
tooth  as  in  the  boll  weevil,  but  are  furnished  with 
a  single,  not  very  conspicuous  tooth. 

DISTRIBUTION  AND  DESTRUCTIVENESS. 


FlG.  16. — Anthonomus  ozneo- 
tinctus:  weevil,  much  en- 
larged (after  Hunter  and 
Hinds). 


According  to  Mr.  Louis  Lamm,  of  Boerne, 
Tex.,  upon  whose  farm  the  insects  occurred 
in  large  numbers,  the  weevil  had  been  no- 
ticed there  for  two  seasons,  having  been 
seen  for  the  first  time  in  October,  1903,  and 
again  during  the  summer  of  1904,  causing  a  loss  of  more  than  one- 
third  of  the  crop  each  year.  At  San  Antonio,  Tex.,  a  number  of 
farms  were  so  seriously  infested  during  the  previous  season  that 
the  growing  of  sweet  peppers  as  a  market  crop  was  discontinued  by 
a  number  of  market  gardeners.  Reports  received  at  the  San  Antonio 
market  show  that  a  pepper  weevil  had  been  common  for  three  or  four 
year-  in  that  vicinity:  there  is  not.  however,  conclusive  proof  that 
the  insect  referred  to  is  identical  with  the  species  here  considered, 
since  a  similar  species  has  been  reported  on  peppers  in  Texas.  There 
exists  an  erroneous  idea  that  peppers  are  often  infested  with  the 
COtton-bolJ  weevil,  and  it  is  possible  that  a  confusion  of  these  two 
species  has  given  rise  to  some  of  the  reports.  According  to  present 
information,  this  species  is  not  abundant  in  the  State  in  localities 
other  than  those  above  mentioned. 


oColeoptera,  IV,  pt  4,  February,  1903^  p.  160,  PI.  X,  fig.  5. 


45 


INDICATIONS  OF  INJURY. 

The  fii>t  indications  of  injury  by  the  pepper  weevil  may  be  seen 
in  the  dropping  of  the  peppers  and  the  general  unhealthy  aspect  of 
the  plant  and  of  the  fruit  remaining  thereon.  The  small  peppers, 
becoming  infested  immediately  after  the  blossoms  fall,  drop  in  Large 
numbers,  so  that  the  ground  at  the  base  of  the  plants  becomes  strewn 
with  the  decaying  fruit.  This  condition  may  be  taken  as  a  tolerably 
certain  sign  of  infestation.  Not  only  i-  the  small  fruit  affected,  but 
the  full-grown  peppers  also  fall  to  the  ground;  and  if  one  of  these 

be  opened  the  interior  will  be  found  either  wholly  or  partly  black- 
ened and  decayed,  the  Beeds  having  been  eaten  into  and  the  pulp 
consumed,  until  finally  decomposition  completes  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion. The  author  of  this  damage  may  be  found,  in  mo-t  cases,  within 
the  pepper,  either  in  the  Larval  or  pupal  stage  (PI.  I),  or  the  adult 

itself  may  be  found  in  the  pod.  from  which  it  would  ultimately  have 

escaped  by  cutting  away  a  hole  jusl  Large  enough  to  allow  the  passage 
of  it-  body  I  PL  I.  fig.  2,  '/>.  In  the  -mall  fruit  the  occurrence  of 
egg-  or  young  Larva?  is  indicated  by  the  presence  of  scars  made  by 
the  weevils  either  for  oviposition  or  feeding.  The  Large  fruit  often 
appears  unsightly  and  misshapen  from  this  injury.  The  absence  of 
bloom-  i-  another  indication  of  the  presence  of  this  pest.  Although 
only  a  -mall  proportion  of  the  bud-  are  usually  infested,  -till,  as 
those  that  have  been  punctured  fail  to  bloom,  the  lack  of  blossoms 

is  undoubtedly  due.  to  a  considerable  extent,  to  the  work  of  this  insect 

I. h  i:  HISTORY. 

As  is  common  with  other  species  of  Anthonomus.  the  eggs  are 
placed  in  such  a  position  as  to  be  invisible  to  the  naked  eye  and  well 
protected  from  any  condition-  detrimental  to  their  future  develop- 
ment. Kggs  are  laid  in  the  very  -mall  buds  of  the  pepper  plant,  in 
the  blooms,  or  in  the  young  fruit  ju-t  after  the  blossoms  fall.  The 
intermediate  and  also  the  mature  stages  of  the  fruii  offer  favorable 
conditions  for  the  deposition  of  eggs.  The  weevils  apparently  pre- 
fer, however,  to  oviposit  in  the  pepper-  immediately  after  the  blooms 
fall,  observations  made  in  the  tield  showing  that  fruit  affected  at  this 
stage  contained  a  relatively  larger  number  of  eggs  than  did  the  more 
mature  peppers. 

The  female,  with  her  long  snout,  bores  a  small  hole  through  the 
pod  (PI.  I,  fig.  1,  £>,  and  fig.  2,  b)  and,  if  necessary  for  the  reception 
of  the  egg,  excavates  a  cavity  in  the  adjacent  seeds  of  the  fruit.  If 
the  pepper  has  already  attained  sufficient  growth  so  that  the  seeds  do 
not  come  in  contact  with  the  outer  wall  of  the  pod,  the  egg  may  be  left 
protruding,  with  about  one-half  of  its  length  exposed  on  the  inner 


46 


side  of  the  pod.  When  oviposition  occurs  in  small  buds  the  egg  is 
placed  in  a  cavity  excavated  among  the  immature  anthers. 

The  egg  is  pearly  white  when  first  deposited,  but  turns  somewhat 
darker  with  advanced  development.  The  form  is  quite  regularly 
elliptical,  tapering  slightly  toward  the  micropylar  end,  but  varies 
somewhat  according  to  the  conditions  of  pressure  encountered  within 
the  pepper.  The  average  length  is  about  0.5  mm.  and  the  width 
0.3  mm.  (-^q  by  gVincn)-  There  appear  to  be  no  characteristic  mark- 
ings on  the  outer  membranes  of  the  egg,  which  are  soft  and  delicate 
and  easily  ruptured.  Under  normal  conditions  the  egg  hatches  in 
from  two  to  four  days. 

The  newly  hatched  larva  is  about  0.5  mm.  in  length  and  has  the 
appearance  of  a  minute,  white,  legless  grub.  As  it  grows  larger  its 
color  is  modified  by  the  contents  of  the  alimentary  canal. 

The  larva  has  the  characteristic  crescentic  form  common  to  most 
curculionids,  with  a  large,  light-colored  head  bearing  darker  colored 
mouth  parts.  Its  growth  is  at  first  very  rapid,  especially  during 
the  first  three  days,  and  at  the  end  of  this  time  it  is  about  three 
times  its  size  when  first  hatched.  At  this  stage  the  head  is  very  large 
in  proportion  to  the  body,  the  latter  being  deeply  wrinkled  and  cov- 
ered with  tubercles.  At  the  age  of  2  weeks,  after  undergoing  at 
least  one  molt,  the  length  averages  nearly  5  mm.,  while  the  body  has 
become  much  larger  and  stouter  and  the  body  wall  more  deeply 
wrinkled.  Viewed  laterally,  the  body  tapers  considerably  from  the 
middle  toward  the  extremities.  The  head  is  of  a  light  amber  color, 
with  conspicuous  mouth  parts.  This  stage  appears  to  be  that  of  the 
full-grown  larva. 

The  amount  of  food  available  and  the  climatic  changes  naturally 
influence  the  growth  of  the  larva4,  but  under  normal  conditions  the 
size  of  the  same  stage  varies  but  little.  This  conclusion  is  borne  out 
by  the  resulting  slight  variation  in  the  size  of  the  adults.  The 
larva?  retain  their  crescent-shaped  form  throughout  their  growth, 
except  that  when  about  to  change  to  the  pupal  condition  they  become 
somewhat  flattened  and  the  lateral  swellings  are  more  apparent. 

After  attaining  full  growth  the  larva  transforms  to  a  pupa  within 
a  cell  (PI.  I,  fig.  1,  c)  formed  of  dried  excreta  and  decaying  matter, 
and  situated  within  the  pepper  pod,  usually  occupying  the  space 
which  lias  been  eaten  away  among  the  seeds.  The  cell  is  oval  in 
form  and  varies  somewhat  in  size,  the  average  length  being  about 
<'»  mm.  Two  <)]•  three  cells  are  often  present  in  a  single  pepper,  and  in 
some  cases  each  one  of  the  four  interior  compartments  into  which  the 
pod  is  divided  has  nourished  a  larva.  The  location' of  the  pupal  cell 
appeal-  to  he  a  matter  of  no  significance,  as  cells  may  be  found  at 
many  different  positions  within  the  seed  pod,  the  larva?  evidently 


Bui.  S4,  Bureau  of  Entomology,  U.  S.  Oept.  of  Agriculture. 


Plate  I. 


47 


pupating  near  the  portion  upon  which  the  la>t  feeding  was  accom- 
plished. 

The  pupa  is  short  and  robust,  about  4  nun.  in  length,  and  nearly 
:;  mm.  in  breadth  ;it  it-  widest  part.  In  color  it  is  pale  amber,  with 
dark-brown  eve-.  The  snout  lies  close  to  the  ventral  surface  of  the 
body.  Above,  the  wing  pads  are  conspicuous,  and  below  them  the 
legs  protrude.  The  antennae,  arising  from  the  snout,  arc  folded 
below  the  head,  and  appear  dor-ally  a>  knobbed  appendages  at  the 
Bides  of  the  wing  pads.  The  abdomen  taper-  to  a  point  behind  and, 
the  outer  segments  being  free,  the  tip  can  wriggle  nervously,  as  it 
often  doc-  when  the  pupa  is  disturbed.  The  pupa  i-  covered  with 
tubercles,  from  each  of  which  arises  a  long  hair  or  -pine.  A  short 
time  before  transformation  to  adult  the  color  becomes  much  darker, 
the  abdomen,  however,  retaining  the  original  hue.  'The  pupal  stage 
occupies  from  six  to  ten  day-.  (Jpon  tlif  full  development  of  the 
adult  the  cell  i-  broken  open  and  the  weevil  emerges  into  the  cavity 
of  the  pepper  pod,  remaining  there  until  hardened,  after  which  it 
cuts  its  way  out  through  the  pod  wall  (1*1.  I.  lief.  2,  '/).  The  color 
immediately  upon  emergence  is  light  yellow,  hut  in  a  few  days  this 
changes  to  a  darker  yellow-brown,  becoming,  finally,  almost  black, 
with  the  exception  of  the  bases  of  the  femora,  which  are  orange. 

POOD    \M>  FEEDING  HABITS. 

So  far  as  LS  known  to  the  writer,  this  insect  ha-  no  other  food 
plants  than  peppers;  yet  it  is  certain  that  it  can  exist  upon  at  lea-t 
three  varieties  of  the  plant,  including  the  common  " sweet  pepper" 
and  two  varieties  of  the  so-called  "  hot  pepper."    The  weevil  may 

also,  perhaps,  live  upon  a  wild  pepper  which  i-  common  in  wooded 
localities  in  southwestern  Texas.  The  fruit  of  this  plant,  a  -mall 
red  berry,  has  an  exceptionally  pungent  flavor  and  i-  used  rather 
extensively  in  the  manufacture  of  a  variety  of  pepper  sauce.  There 
is  a  possibility  that  this  "  wild  pepper  "  may  prove  to  be  the  original 
food  plant,  but  thus  far  the  weevil  has  not  been  observed  feeding 
upon  it. 

The  young  larva,  when  lirst  hatched,  feed-  upon  the  soft,  pulpy 
tissue  forming  the  interior  lining  of  the  pod.  This  food  it  can  obtain 
in  abundance,  since  it  is  here,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  that  the  egg 
i-  deposited.  Usually  the  larva  does  not  attack  the  seeds  until  it 
has  attained  considerable  growth,  except  in  those  cases  in  which  the 
egg  is  placed  in  a  cavity  excavated  for  its  reception  in  a  seed.  The 
seeds,  extending  out  laterally  in  a  cluster  from  the  bases  of  attach- 
ment, offer  secure  lodgment  for  the  larva,  which  eats  away  the  outer 
edges  and  excavates  the  interior,  thereby  causing  serious  injury 
(PI.  I,  fig.  *2,  c).  The  adult  weevils  appear  to  feed  equally  well  in  the 
fruit  at  different  stages  of  growth,  although  the  small,  tender  buds 


48 


seem  to  be  the  most  seriously  injured  (PI.  I,  fig.  2,  a).  By  means  of 
the  sharp  mandibles  at  the  end  of  the  snout  the  weevil  will  bore  its 
way  through  the  pod,  eating  from  the  center  in  a  circle  as  far  as  the 
length  of  the  proboscis  will  permit,  sometimes  increasing  the  dis- 
tance by  forcing  the  head  and  thorax  into  the  opening  made.  A 
number  of  such  punctures  in  a  tender  bud  or  young  pepper  will  soon 
cause  it  to  fall  to  the  ground. 

REMEDIAL  SUGGESTIONS. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  discovery  of  the  work  of  this  insect 
was  made  so  late  in  the  season  that  no  experiments  in  the  application 
of  insecticides  or  other  remedial  measures  could  be  performed,  it  is 
impossible  at  present  to  describe  any  sure  method  of  destruction.  A 
few  suggestions,  howeATer,  may  prove  of  value  to  those  who  are 
directly  interested.  From  the  knowledge  already  gained  concern- 
ing the  feeding  habits  of  the  adult  insect,  which  are  very  similar  to 
those  of  the  Mexican  cotton-boll  weevil,  it  is  evident  that  the  use  of 
internal  or  stomach  poisons,  such  as  Paris  green,  would  not  give  sat- 
isfactory results.  Since  the  area  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  pep- 
pers is  not,  as  a  rule,  very  extensive,  there  is  one  remedial  measure 
which  may  be  advised  with  some  assurance  of  success,  i.  e.,  the  gath- 
ering and  destroying  of  the  infested  fallen  fruit.  As  a  general  rule 
the  peppers  found  upon  the  ground  contain  larvae,  pupae,  and  even 
adult  weevils  in  large  numbers.  If  the  fruit  thus  fallen  be  collected 
and  destroyed  by  burning,  or  some  other  equally  certain  method, 
immense  numbers  of  the  weevils  will  be  killed  and  the  future  crop 
protected  to  a  certain  extent  from  further  infestation.  If  the  fruit 
is  allowed  to  remain  on  the  ground,  however,  it  will  furnish  a  favor- 
able opportunity  for  the  development  of  the  immature  stages  within 
the  pods,  and  the  adult  weevils  emerging  therefrom  will  at  once 
attack  the  peppers  whieh  may  have  escaped  previous  injury.  The 
expense  involved  in  this  procedure  would  be  slight,  since  the  work 
may  be  done  by  unskilled  persons  with  a  reasonable  chance  of  success. 
Judging  from  what  has  been  learned  of  the  life  history  of  the  insect, 
it  is  safe  to  say  that,  beginning  as  early  in  the  season  as  the  young 
bud-  or  peppers  begin  to  drop,  a  collection  should  be  made  as  often 
as  every  fifth  or  seventh  day.  gathering  not  only  all  fallen  fruit,  but 
also  all  buds  and  pods  still  on  the  plants  showing  an  unhealthy  color, 
a  deformity  of  shape,  or  any  other  sign  of  having  been  attacked. 
Whether  the  infestation  be  severe  or  slight,  the  interval  between  the 
collections,  if  this  method  of  control  be  adopted,  will  be  the  same, 
since  the  interval  depends  upon  the  developmental  period  and  not 
upon  l  he  abundance  of  the  fallen  fruit.  If  the  collection  of  the 
fallen  fruit  be  steadily  followed  up.  the  damage  done  by  the  weevil 
can,  in  all  probability,  be  very  largely  prevented. 


40 


COLD  STORAGE  FOR  COWPEAS 

By  -T.  W.  T.  Duyel,  Seed  Laboratory,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The  value  of  cowpeas  for  the  improvement  of  the  *oil  as  well  as 
for  forage  has  Long  been  recognized.  In  recent  years  the  area  on 
which  cowpeas  are  grown  has  been  greatly  extended.  With  the  in- 
creased acreage  there  has  been  a  more  widespread  distribution  of  the 
weevils  destructive  to  cowpeas.  Large  quantities  of  seed  are  destroyed 
annually  in  this  way,  entailing  a  great  Loss  t<»  seedsmen. 

( larefully  conducted  experiments,  extending  over  a  period  of  nearly 
two  yeai-.  have  shown  that  cowpeas  can  he  kept  free  from  weevils  if 
stored  at  a  temperature  of  32  to  .">!  V.  It  i-  understood  that  this 
method  i-  practiced  to  a  limited  extent  by  a  few  seedsmen,  who  find  it 


WlQ.  17. — a,  Bruchut  obtectUS    b,  H.  chinvtmix :  c.  It.  qundrimaculatutt — all  much  enlarged 

(after  Cblttendea). 

far  more  satisfactory  than  the  methods  of  fumigation  which  have 
been  so  generally  used. 

WEEVILS  INFESTING  COWPEAS.6 

There  are  three  kind-  of  weevil-  which  do  considerable  damage  to 
cowpeas  during  storage — the  common  bean  weevil  (Bruchus  <>I>tcctiis 
Say),  the  cowpea  weevil  (Bruchus  chinensis  Linn.),  and  the  four- 
spotted  bean  weevil  (Bruchus  quadriniaculatus  Fab.).  The  adult 
beetle  of  each  of  these  species  i-  shown  in  figure  17.  </.  />.  and  c.  The 

o  What  is  here  said  concerning  the  storage  of  cowpeas  applies  equally  well  to 
garden  p;>as  and  heans,  and  presumably  to  other  seeds  of  a  similar  character 
w  hich  are  attacked  by  weevils. 

&  The  notes  on  the  ravages  and  life  history  of  these  weevils  are  based  on  Dr. 
F.  II.  Chittenden's  "  Insects  injurious  to  heans  and  peas,"  Yearbook  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture  for  1898,  pp.  233-260.  Figure  17  is  taken  from 
the  same  paper. 

28730— No.  54—05  m  1 


50 


first-named  species  is  met  with  in  cowpeas  much  less  frequently  than 
the  last  two. 

The  species  breeding  in  the  cowpeas  which  served  as  check  samples 
to  the  series  kept  in  cold  storage  were  the  cowpea  weevil  and  the  four- 
spotted  bean  weevil.  The  principal  food  of  these  two  species  is  the 
cowpea.  and  they  are  found  in  most  countries  where  cowpeas  are 
grown.  The  first  eggs  are  usually  deposited  in  the  field,  but  the 
greatest  damage  is  generally  done  after  the  seed  is  stored.  The 
beetles  continue  to  develop  in  the  dried  and  stored  seed  for  several 
generations.  Under  favorable  conditions,  depending  chiefly  on  the 
temperature,  six  or  seven  broods  may  develop  within  a  year,  according 
to  Doctor  Chittenden's  observations.  If  not  checked  their  ravages 
continue  until  the  cowpeas  are  unfit  for  any  practical  purpose,  not 
even  serving  for  the  sustenance  of  the  weevils.  Plate  II,  fig.  1,  shows 
cowpeas  which  have  been  destroyed  in  this  way. 

CONDITIONS  AND  RESULTS   OF  EXPERIMENTS. 

The  experiments  herein  discussed  were  conducted  with  Clay  cowpeas 
grown  in  Georgia  in  1902.  A  germination  test  made  of  the  bulk  lot 
in  February,  1003,  showed  a  vitality  of  83.5  per  cent. 

March  7.  1903,  duplicate  sets  of  twelve  lots  each,  put  up  in  cloth 
bags,  were  stored  in  "  trade  conditions,"  and  in  cold  storage  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  Richmond,  Va..  Jacksonville.  Fla.,  and  Xew  Orleans, 
La.  At  each  of  these  places  the  "  trade  conditions  "  were  represented 
by  seed  warehouses.  The  cold-storage  samples  were  subjected  to  a 
temperature  of  32°  to  31°  F.  The  remainder  of  the  original  bulk 
was  kept  in  the  seed  laboratory  at  a  temperature  varying  from  55°  to 
80°  F.  Samples  from  the  entire  series  were  tested  from  time  to  time 
for  germination.    The  results  of  the  tests  are  given  in  Table  I. 


Table  I. — Percentage  of  (termination  of  cowpeas  stored  at  various  place*  under 
''trade  conditions"  and  in  cold  stomge  on  March  7.  19Q8,  and  returned  from 
storage  at  various  dates. 


Date  of  re- 
turn of  seeds 
from  stor- 
age." 

Percentages  of  germination. 

Original 
hulk  lot 
kept  in 
seed  lab- 
oratory.'' 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Richmond,  Va. 

Jacksonville,  Fla. 

New  Orleans.  La 

Trade 
condi- 
tions. 

Cold 
storage. 

Trade 
condi- 
tions. 

Cold 
storage. 

Trade 
condi- 
tions. 

Cold 
storage. 

Trade 
condi- 
tions. 

Cold 
storage 

May  1,1903 

si 

K4.r> 

92 

83.5 

90. 5 

90. 5 

91.5 

S3 

82.-1 

June  1,1908 

1: 

98 

98. 5 

97. 5 

92. 5 

94.5 

92 

94 

90 

July  1,1908 

98 

94,5 

74.5 

87 

(<*) 

90.5 

£11 

90 

Aug.  1,1903 

«  68-8 

98. 5 

87 

(<*) 

88.  5 

#27 

88 

Sept,  1,1908 

(<•) 

(<0 

84 

88. 5 

CO 

83. 5 

«<•) 

85 

Nov.  1,1909 

H 

('•) 

98: 5 

(<•) 

94.6 

(<•) 

97 

(c) 

93 

June  1,1904 

M 

H7  5 

to 

70. 5 

ft) 

85 

75 

Nov.  1.1904 

92 

M 

84.6 

(n 

.50 

(3 

77 

■The  diites  given  are  approximate  only,  varying  slightly  from  actual  dates  of  return  o 
seed i  from  storage.  Germination  tests  In  all  cases  were  made  within  a  very  few  dayi 
after  return  of  seeds  from  storage. 

''The  original  imik  sample  germinated  83.5  per  oenl  In  February,  1903. 

r  Destroyed  by  weevils.  , 

*'  Many  destroyed  by  weevils. 


Bui.  54,  Bureau  of  Entomology,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 


Plate  II. 


Fig.  2.— Cowpeas  from  Cold  Storage,  Washington,  D.  C,  September  1.  1903— 
Natural  Size  (original). 


Bui.  54,  Bureau  of  Entomology,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 


Plate  III. 


Fig.  2.— Cowpeas  in  Cold  Storage  from  March  7,  1903,  to  November  1,  1904 

(original). 


51 


The  table  shows  that  the  period  of  storage  extends  over  two  sum- 
mers, from  March  7.  VMK).  to  November.  1(.»04.  Throughout  this 
entire  period  the  cowpeas  kept  in  cold  storage  were  not  injured  by 
Weevils  and  showed  practically  no  deterioration  in  vitality.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  cowpeas  stored  in  "trade  conditions'1  were  all  de- 
stroyed by  weevils  (hiring  the  first  summer.  The  bulk  lot  kept  in  the 
-red  Laboratory,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  where  the  temperature 
was  very  favorable  for  the  development  of  the  weevil-,  was  the  first 
to  be  dot  roved.  In  May.  this  seed  germinated  M  per  cent,  but 
one  month  later  the  weevils  had  destroyed  every  seed.  At  this  time 
the  beetles  were  present  in  such  numbers  as  to  cause  a  rise  In  tempera- 
ture w  ithin  the  bag  of  -red  of  ( '.  (•_!<>. 7  F. ) .  Sample-  from 
Jacksonville  germinated  JMX5  per  cent  in  May  and  94.5  per  cent  in 
June.  1903,  but  by  the  1st  of  duly  the  -red  had  been  destroyed  by 
weevils.  The  seed  stored  at  Richmond  was  not  all  destroyed  until 
the  August  test.  The  Washington  and  New  Orleans  -eric-  -bowed 
Complete  failure  in  the  September  test,  but  in  each  of  these  cases  many 
-eed-  were  destroyed  at  the  time  earlier  tests  were  made. 

The  foregoing  results  with  the  cowpeas  kept  in  **  trade  condition-  n 
illustrate  exactly  what  has  been  experienced  by  every  seedsman  w  ho 
has  attempted  t<>  carry  cowpeas  over  the  summer  in  his  warehouse. 
However,  where  the  seeds  are  handled  in  large  bulk  they  will  be  de- 
stroyed much  earlier  in  the  season,  as  a  result  of  the  brat  generated 
by  the  weevils  during  the  transformation  stage.  As  a  result  of  this 
heat  the  second  brood  will  develop  much  more  quickly  than  was  the 
case  with  small  lots  as  used  for  these  experiment-.  The  actual  com- 
mercial condition-  with  seed  stored  in  quantity  would  be  much  the 
same  a-  shown  in  the  control  sample  stored  in  the  seed  laboratory — 
that  is,  the  -eed  would  be  destroyed  earlier  In  the  season.  Plate  II 
show  -  row  peas  which  were  kept  in  "  trade  condition-  "  <  fig.  1  )  and  in 
cold  storage  (fig.  -2)  at  Washington,  D.  ('.  The  photographs  were 
taken  Septeiriber  1.  L903,  approximately  six  months  after  the  seeds 
were  stored.  Figure  1  -how-  the  weevil-eaten  cow  pea-,  which  failed 
to  -how  a  -ingle  germinable  seed;  figure  2,  the  cow  pea-  after  -i\ 
months  in  cold  storage.  These  cowpeas  had  not  deteriorated  in  vital- 
ity and  germinated  s  1  per  cent. 

EFFECT  OF  COLD  STORAGE  oX  THE  VITALITY  OF  Till-:  SEED  AND  THE  FUTURE 
DEVELOPMENT  or  TIN:  WEEVILS. 

The  samples  of  -eed  were  tested  for  germination  as  they  were 
taken  from  cold  storage.  The  remainder  of  each  sample  was  then 
stored  in  tin  boxes.  The  temperature  of  the  laboratory  where  the 
seeds  were  stored  was  slightly  higher  than  that  of  the  ordinary  living 
room 


52 


It  was  supposed  that  the  weevils  would  develop  in  the  cowpea^ 
after  they  were  taken  from  cold  storage  and  subjected  to  a  higher 
temperature,  but  in  no  case  did  the  weevils  ever  develop,  not  even 
in  the  samples  which  were  taken  from  cold  storage  May  1,  1903,  less 
than  two  months  from  the  time  they  were  first  put  into  the  cold- 
storage  room. 

The  samples  from  cold  storage  were  tested  again  for  germination 
March  11,  1905,  two  years  after  the  beginning  of  the  experiment, 
The  results  of  the  germination  tests  are  shown  in  Table  II,  together 
with  the  approximate  time  the  samples  were  in  cold  storage  and  the 
time  they  were  subsequently  stored  in  the  seed  laboratory. 

Table  II. — Percentages  of  germination  of  cowpeas  stored  at  various  places  at  a 
temperature  varying  from  32°  to  34°  F.  for  from  two  to  twenty  months,  and 
then  in  seed  laboratory  at  a  temperature  varying  from  60°  to  80°  F.  for  from 
four  to  twenty-two  months." 


Duration  of  storage.'' 

Percentages  of  germination. 

In  cold 
storage, 
32°-34°  F. 

In  labora- 
tory. 
60° -80°  F. 

Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

Richmond, 
Va. 

Jackson- 
ville, Fla. 

New  Or- 
leans, La. 

Months. 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 

15 
20 

Months. 
22 
21 
20 
19 
18 
17 
9 
4 

Per  cent. 
79.5 
81 

73.5 
80.5 
81 
75 

83.5 
70.5 

Per  cent. 
80 
84.5 
83 
77 

82.5 
78 
85 
79.5 

Per  cent. 
81.5 
86.5 
77.5 
81.5 
83.5 
92 
79 

64.5 

Per  cent. 
77.5 
84.5 
76 
71 
86 
79 
79 
79 

Average  

78.06 

81.21 

80.  75 

79 

-  1 

«  Seeds  placed  in  cold  storage  March  7,  1903;  tested  March  11,  1905. 

?' Durations  of  storage  here  given  are  approximate  only,  varying  slightly  from  actual  number 

of  days  of  storage. 

Table  II  shows  that  the  vitality  of  the  samples  remained  practi- 
cally uniform,  regardless  of  the  length  of  time  they  were  kept  in 
cold  storage.  This  fact  should  clear  up  any  doubts,  which  so  many 
seedsmen  have  entertained,  that  seeds  kept  in  cold  storage  would  de- 
teriorate very  rapidly  if  afterwards  subjected  to  atmospheric  changes 
of  temperature.  The  results,  it  is  true,  are  somewhat  lower  than 
those  given  in  Table  I,  and  the  average  percentages  of  germination 
are  likewise  lower  than  the  germination  of  the  original  control 
sample.  But  this  must  be  considered  as  a  natural  deterioration, 
inasmuch  as  the  peas  at  the  time  of  this  test  were  two  and  one-half 
years  old.  The  test  showing  the  lowest  percentage  of  germination, 
No.  8,  was  Prom  Jacksonville.  When  (his  sample  was  received  it 
bore  indication-  of  being  damaged  by  moisture,  and  the  test  made  at 
that  time  (  November  1,  L904)  showed  a  vitality  of  only  50  per  cent. 

There  was.  however,  a  marked  difference  in  the  color  of  the  cow- 
| >eas.    The  earlier  samples  taken  from  cold  storage  had  darkened 


in  color,  while  the  peas  fresh  from  the  cold  storage  room  were  not 
discolored,  save,  perhaps,  an  occasional  seed.  These  differences  in 
color  are  shown  in  Plate  III  (figs.  1  and  2). 

0091  OF  COLO  STORAGE. 

While  a  few  seedsmen  have  adopted  the  method  of  keeping  cow- 
peas  in  cold  storage,  the  majority  contend  that  it  i-  too  expensive. 
Those  who  practice  the  cold-storage  treatment,  however,  find  it 
entirely  practicable  and  economical.  Data  obtained  from  a  number 
of  the  largest  and  best  equipped  cold-storage  houses  in  the  I  nited 
State-  show  that  the  cost  of  storing  a  bushel  of  seed  of  this  kind 
varies  from  3.6  to  7.5  cents  a  month,  depending  chiefly  upon  the 
quantity  stored.  The  former  price  i-  for  seed  stored  in  carload 
lot-  and  the  latter  for  quantities  of  100  bushels  or  less.  The  cosl 
of  cold  storage  for  t  he  season,  from  four  to  seven  months,  ranges  from 
lf>  to  -i:>  cent-  per  bushel,  depending  upon  the  length  of  time  and  the 
quantity  of  seed  stored.  A  number  of  the  cold-storage  men  are 
already  familiar  with  the  handling  of  stock  of  this  kind,  and  from 
those  the  Lowest  price-  were  submitted.  Bui  to  pay  the  highest 
price,  2f>  cent-  per  bushel  for  the  -ea-on.  i-  analogous  to  paying  that 
price  for  a  new  stock  of  seed. 

HOW  SEED  SHOULD  BE  STORED. 

CowpeaS,  when  kept  in  cold  storage,  should  be  handled  in  hag-,  just 
a>  in  the  warehouse.  The  objection  frequently  raised  by  those  who 
are  unfamiliar  with  the  cold-storage  method  i-  that  of  excessive 
moisture,  the  contention  being  that  cold  storage  would  necessitate 
special  containers.  This  objection,  however,  i-  not  a  valid  one.  for, 
I  at  a  temperature  of  32°  to  34°  F.  the  air  can  retain  but  a  compara- 
tively -mall  quantity  of  water  vapor.  Furthermore,  at  low  tempera- 
tures moisture  is  much  less  deleterious  to  vitality  than  at  temperatures 
Mich  as  are  found  during  the  summer  months  in  warm,  moist  climates, 
where  seeds  of  all  kinds  soon  lose  their  vitality.  It  is.  however,  de- 
sirable to  keep  the  seed  as  dry  as  possible,  and  separate  cold-storage 
Rooms  should  be  provided  for  stock  of  this  character. 

If  the  bag-  of  seed  are  taken  from  cold  storage  and  placed  in  a 
warm,  moist  room,  there  may  be  in  exceptional  cases  a  sufficient  con- 
densation of  moisture  to  cause  "sweating."  But  if  the  cold  storage 
room  has  been  dry  and  a  good  circulation  of  air  is  maintained  between 
the  bags  for  a  short  time  after  they  are  taken  from  cold  storage,  the 
temperature  of  the  seed  will  soon  be  the  same  as  that  of  the  surround- 
ing air  and  the  danger  of  "  sweating  "  will  be  overcome. 


54 


SUMMARY. 

Cowpeas  can  be  kept  free  from  weevils  if  maintained  at  a  tempera- 
ture of  from  32°  to  U°  F. 

The  vitality  of  the  seed  is  in  no  way  injured  by  the  cold-storage 
treatment. 

Cowpeas  can  be  carried  through  the  summer  in  cold  storage  at  a 
cost  ranging  from  15  to  25  cents  per  bushel  for  the  season. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  the  seed  be  planted  soon  after  it  is  taken 
from  cold  storage  and  subjected  to  atmospheric  temperatures;  for 
this  is  not  followed  by  a  more  rapid  deterioration  in  vitality. 

The  storage  room  should  be  kept  as  dry  as  possible,  and  the  seeds 
handled  in  bags  as  in  the  warehouse. 

THE  LARGER  CANNA  LEAF-ROLLER. 

(Calpodes  ethlius  Cram.) 
By  F.  II.  Chittenden. 

t  During  the  past  two  years  the  leaf-rolling  caterpillar  of  Calpodes 
(thl/ us  ("ram.  has  attracted  considerable  attention  from  its  ravages 
in  fields  of  canna  in  portions  of  South  Carolina  and  Alabama. 

In  September,  1903,  Mr.  H.  M.  Simons  wrote  of  its  attacking  the 
foliage  of  the  canna  plant  in  the  vicinity  of  Myers,  S.  C,  sending 
specimens  in  all  stages  except  the  egg,  the  first  adult  issuing  Sep- 
tember 21. 

In  September,  1901,  a  similar  lot  of  specimens  were  received  from 
Mr.  L.  H.  Read,  Fruitdale,  Ala.,  who  wrote  of  the  difficulty  of  cap- 
turing the  butterflies,  although  they  were  quite  plentiful  among  the 
canna  plants.  Thousands  of  the  caterpillars  were  in  the  fields,  and 
hand-picking  was  out  of  the  question.  All  bronze  ATarieties  of  canna 
were  injured,  including  eight  or  ten  varieties.  Among  those  most 
attacked  were  Mississippi,  Mont  Blanc,  Explorateur,  Crampbell,  and 
Italia.  A  few  green  varieties  were  somewhat  affected,  but  as  a  rule 
Were  scarcely  touched,  obviously  owing  to  their  thicker  and  tougher 
leaves.    The  caterpillar  was  observed  at  work  only  at  night. 

In  11)04,  also,  the  species  was  observed  somewhat  abundantly  at 
Baton  Rouge,  La.,  by  Mr.  A.  L.  Quaintance,  and  sparingly  at  New 
Orleans,  La.,  by  Mr.  E.  S.  G.  Titus.  Although  only  two  instances 
of  severe  injury  are  cited,  these  are  doubtless  merely  representative 
of  many  which  were  not  reported. 

This  species  and  its  injuries  have  been  known  for  many  years,  yet 
no  comprehensive  article  on  it  has,  to  our  knowledge,  appeared  in  any 
work  on  economic  entomology,  although  the  insect  in  its  various 
tages  was  described  in  detail  by  Dr.  S.  II.  Scudder  in  his  Butterflies 


DO 


of  the  Eastern  United  State-  and  Canada.''  The  entire  appearance 
of  the  insect  from  the  larval  stage  to  the  adult  i>  indicative  of  its 
tropical  origin,  and  it  is  -till  somewhat  restricted  to  the  South.  There 
is  a  possibility,  however,  that  it  might  gradually  extend  its  present 
distribution  if  it  could  obtain  a  footing  in  greenhouses  where  cannas 
are  grown. 

DE84 IR1PTIVE. 

The  butU  rf/y. — The  parent  of  this  singular  leaf-roller  i-  a  butterfly 
belonging  to  the  subfamily  Pamphilinae  of  the  family  Hesperiidae,  or 
skippers.  It  is  one  of  the  larger  skippers,  with  a  wing  expanse  of 
between  1  and  \  \  inches,  The  head  i-  very  broad,  with  large  eyes, 
and  the  body  is  thick  and  heavy.    The  upper  surface  of  the  head. 


Fig.   IS.  —  Calpoilrs  cthlius:  a.  butterfly  ;   b.  larva:   C,  pupa,   front   view:   </.  pupa,  side 

view — all  enlarged  (original). 

thorax,  and  a  portion  of  the  abdomen  i-  thickly  covered  with  long 
olive  hairs.  The  wings  are  dark  brown,  with  white  semitransparent 
spots,  arranged  as  in  figure  L8,  which  also  shows  the  location  of  the 
masses  of  yellowish  hairs,  the  contour  of  the  wings,  and  structure  of 
the  antenna1.  The  lower  surface  of  the  wings  i-  much  paler  brown, 
or  fulvous,  and  more  nearly  uniform  in  color.  The  head  and  body 
arc  -till  paler  yellowish.  The  adult  is  sometimes  called  the  Brazilian 
skipper. 

The  egg  is  illustrated  by  Scudder.  It  is  subhemispherical  in  out- 
line, as  viewed  from  the  side,  and  has  a  convex  base,  while  the  surface 
is  very  irregularly  reticulated,  in  most  cases  pentagonally.  The  broad- 
est diameter  is  L.25  mm.:  height  about  0.7  mm.    Eggs  have  not  been 


o  Vol.  II.  pp.  IT.-.O-IT.-h.  1889. 


56 


seen  by  the  writer,  and  the  color  does  not  appear  to  have  been  desig- 
nated. 

The  larva  or  caterpillar  is  quite  remarkable  because  of  its  semi- 
transparency.  Its  surface  is  without  hair  and  the  general  color  is 
moderately  pale  green,  with  dark-orange  subtriangular  head,  which 
is  marked  by  a  frontal  subtriangular  space.  The  thoracic  segments 
are  greenish  testaceous  and  more  or  less  tinged  with  orange,  at  least 
in  preserved  specimens.  The  remainder  of  the  body  is  nearly  trans- 
parent, presenting  a  view  of  the  vascular  and  nervous  system  beneath 
the  skin,  as  illustrated  in  figure  18,  b.  The  length  of  the  larva,  when 
full  grown,  is  about  If  inches. 

The  pupa  is  nearly  as  striking  as  is  the  larva.  It  is  of  similar  pale 
greenish  color  and  of  the  appearance  shown  in  figure  18,  c,  d.  The 
head  is  prolonged  into  a  curved  process,  and  the  tongue  extends  in  a 
nearly  straight  line  considerably  beyond  the  prolonged  anal  tubercle. 
Without  the  projections  it  is  nearly  as  long  as  the  larva. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Scudder  states  that  the  principal  range  of  this  species  is  from  Cen- 
tral America  to  the  northern  parts  of  the  South  American  Continent, 
although  it  inhabits,  also,  the  extreme  Southern  States  of  our  Union. 
So  far  as  can  be  learned  it  is  still  known  only  from  the  Gulf  States, 
South  Carolina,  and  Porto  Rico  in  our  domains.  It  also  inhabits 
Cuba  and  Jamaica,  however,  and  in  South  America  occurs  as  far 
south  as  Argentina,  where  it  was  years  ago  reported  to  be  common 
by  Burmeister. 

ACCOUNTS  OF  INJURY. 

In  the  records  of  the  Bureau  of  Entomology  we  have  accounts  of 
injuries  and  of  other  observations  on  this  species,  as  follows:  June  7, 
1880,  we  received  from  Dr.  J.  H.  Mellichamp,  BlufFton,  S.  C,  a  report 
that  the  larva  had  utterly  destroyed  some  luxuriant  plants  of  Canna 
flaccida  in  his  garden.  August  9,  1887,  we  received  from  Mr.  A.  L. 
Townsend,  Bay  Ridge,  Long  Island,  report  that  the  species  did  much 
damage  to  French  cannas  and  Caladium  esculentum.  In  our  rearing 
cages  the  butterflies  hatched  June  12  and  August  26. 

The  caterpillars  appear  to  affect  only  plants  of  the  genus  Canna, 
when  they  are  obtainable,  and  sometimes  they  are  so  abundant  as  to 
do  much  damage,  at  times  utterly  destroying  luxuriant  plants.  Dr. 
II.  (x.  Dyar  mentions  a  case  where  the  larvae  were  eating  the  leaves  of 
canna  planted  in  the  grounds  of  a  hotel  at  Miami,  Fla.,  considerably 
injuring  the  appearance  of  the  plants. 


57 


LIFE  HISTORY  AM)  HABITS. 

Eggs  are  laid  singly  and  separately,  sometimes  in  groups  of  from 
5  to  7,  on  the  under  surface  of  Leaves.  According  to  Miss  Helen  Kinjr'1 
they  hatch  in  Te.\a>  in  six  days,  while  iu  Florida,  according  to  Witt- 
feld.  they  may  hatch  in  four  days. 

On  hatching,  the  caterpillar,  a-  i-  common  with  many  species,  de- 
vours a  portion  of  it-  eggshell,  whereupon,  after  feeding  Lightly  on  a 
leaf,  it  fold-  the  latter  over  and  confine-  it  in  place  with  a  few  stitches 
of  silk,  enlarging  it-  retreat  a-  it  develop-.  From  the  tubular  case 
thus  formed  it  feed-  along  the  edges  and  retreats  within  when  dis- 
turbed. It  i-  careful  to  eject  all  excreta  and  exuviae,  hut  in  spite  of 
its  cleanliness  the  caterpillar  i-  frequently  attacked  by  disease. 

A  good  account  is  given  by  Mi—  King  in  the  article  above  noted, 
which  i-  largely  republished  in  Scudder's  work.  Doctor  Dyar  has 
ascertained  that  there  are  customarily  five  stages  of  this  larva,  and 
describes  them  fully  in  Entomological  News. *  The  larva,  when  full 
grow  n,  develops  to  n  pupa  in  it-  resting  place,  "  held  by  >  transverse 
loop  and  a  band  of  -ilk  for  the  cremaster."  "  The  cremasterial  band 
is  attached  at  one  end  to  the  leaf:  at  the  other  to  the  transverse 
thread."  This  accurately  describes  the  pupal  case  as  observed  in 
specimens  received  at  this  office.  Under  other  conditions  this  case 
might  be  different,  as  described  by  Mr.  Charles  K.  Dodge.' 

According  to  data  accumulated  by  Scudder,  the  butterfly  is  on  the 
wing  in  southern  Florida  in  May.  and  from  eggs  laid  in  the  middle 
of  the  month  the  butterflies  reappear  in  the  first  half  of  dune.  In 
South  Carolina  the  season  i>  a  little  later,  and  there  mature  cater- 
pillars have  been  observed  before  the  middle  of  dune  and  fresh  but- 
terflies from  the  12th  of  the  month  to  the  end.  Scudder  concludes 
that  there  are  two  generations  before  midsummer.  Judging  by 
recent  experience  there  are  likely  to  be  two  more  generations  before 
cold  weather,  but  we  do  not  know  how  the  winter  is  passed.  The 
moths  from  one  of  these  generation-  appear  in  the  latter  part  of  Sep- 
tember. 

Of  the  butterfly  Angus  has  stated  that  he  was  attracted  to  an  indi- 
vidual, which  he  captured  near  New  York  City,  "by  the  peculiarity 
of  its  movements  on  the  wing:  they  were  very  undulating,  like  those 
of  gnats,  a-  they  rose  and  fell  almost  perpendicularly  and  in  a  very 
easy  manner.'5  Wittfeld  adds  that  one  of  the  favorite  times  for 
flight  of  the  butterfly  in  fair  weather  i>  after  sundown.  Miss  Helen 
King  describes  its  motion  as  "  very  rapid." 

a  Psyche,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  322-821,  1882. 

&  Pages  163-1(55,  1898. 

c Rural  Carolinian,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  593. 


58 


REMEDIES. 

The  large  holes  made  by  this  leaf -roller  in  the  leaves  of  canna  and 
the  rolled-up  leaves,  together  with  the  excrement,  which  will  be  found 
below  the  affected  leaves,  will  serve  to  indicate  its  presence,  and  its 
large  size  permits  the  control  of  the  insect  by  hand-picking.  Any  of 
the  arsenicals  Avill  kill  it.  but  their  use  is  not  always  desirable  because 
of  the  presence  of  children  in  the  vicinity  and  the  fear  of  their  being 
poisoned.  An  ordinary  spraying  with  an  arsenical,  preferably  arse- 
nate of  lead  combined  with  Bordeaux  mixture,  could,  however,  be 
made  without  any  real  danger  of  poisoning.  After  an  arsenical  has 
been  used.  Bordeaux  mixture  should  be  tried  alone  as  a  repellent. 

THE  POND-LILY  LEAF-BEETLE. 

(Galcruccllu  nymphcew  Linn.) 
By  F.  H.  Chittenden. 

During  the  first  week  of  August.  1904,  this  leaf-beetle  became  so 
abundant  in  the  District  of  Columbia  that  it  deserted  its  natural 
food  plants — aquatic  species  of  the  genera  Nymphaea,  Sagittaria, 
Brasenia,  and  Xuphar — and  attacked  near-by  plants  of  other  botan- 
ical families  not  at  all  related  to  those  which  form  its  normal  food. 
Mr.  George  B.  Sudworth.  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  reported  the 
species  on  basket  willow,  remarking  that  it  appeared  capable  of 
doing  considerable  damage  to  this  plant.  Mr.  Sedgwick  X.  Lander 
reported  injury  to  beans.  In  both  cases  numerous  living  specimens 
of  the  beetles  were  furnished.  August  4  Mr.  J.  L.  Reeves  visited 
Mr.  Lander's  place,  and  with  little  effort  obtained  a  thousand  or 
more  of  the  beetles  by  sweeping  the  infested  plants.  In  confine- 
ment the  beetles  fed  for  several  weeks  on  the  leaves  of  both  willow 
and  bean,  gnawing  minute  holes  from  the  epidermis  of  the  upper 
surface,  thereby  producing  the  effect  of  fine  network. 

This  species  is  evidently  of  foreign  origin  and  is  now  common 
to  both  continents,  and  its  seniiaquatic  habits  are  familiar  to  most 
collectors.  The  writer  has  in  mind  another  report,  made  August  3, 
by  Mi-.  R.  Balluff,  of  injury  to  a  native  pond  lily  (Nymphwa 
-p.)  growing  on  the  grounds  of  the  Executive  Mansion  at  Wash- 
ington. A-  this  leaf-beetle  does  not  appear  to  have  been  mentioned 
hitherto  in  any  publications  of  this  Department,  a  short  account  may 
be  interesting. 

The  species  ha-  frequently  received  mention  under  the  name  GdU  - 
ruca  sagittarim  Gyll.  It  is  related  to  the  common  cucumber  beetle-, 
belonging  to  the  same  tribe,  the  Galerucinse,  of  the  Chrysomelida? 
or  leaf-beetles.    The  beetle  (tig.  L9)  measures  about  one-fourth  of 


59 


may  be  distinguished  from  other  species  in 


an  inch  in  Length,  and 
our  fauna  by  a  number  of  character-,  among  which  are  its  per- 
fectly -month  thorax,  pale  elytra]  margin,  acute  sutural  angles,  and 
completely  separated  middle  coxa".  this  separation  being:  due  to  a 
prolongation  of  the  mesosternum  meeting  the  metasternum.  The 
thorax  LS  dull  yellow,  with  three  picOOUS  -pot-,  and  the  elytra  are 

darker  brown,  somewhat  coarsely  and  densely  punctate. 

This  in-rct  occiii-  abundantly  throughout  northern  Europe  and 
Siberia,  and  in  the  northern  portion  of  our  own  continent  from  the 
Hudson  Bay  region  southward  to  the  District  of  Columbia  and 
Virginia.  It  i>  recorded  also  from  Texas,  California,  and  Oregon, 
'out  doe-  not  seem  to  have  lx»en  recognized  in  neighboring  States. 
It  seems  probable  that  it  was  introduced 
many  year-  ago  from  the  Eastern  Hemis- 
phere. 

An  account  of  the  earlier  stages  of  this 
Species,  with  notes  on  its  habits  and  illus- 
tration of  larva,  pupa,  and  adult,  were 
given  as  early  a-  177.")  by  Baron  De  Geer.- 
Later  writer-  have  also  described  the 
earlier  stages,  the  list  including  Bargagli, 
Gadeau,  Weise,  and  Quilter.6  The  de- 
scription by  the  Last-mentioned  author,  in 

the  writer'-  opinion,  can  only  he  doubt- 
fully referred  to  this  species.  He  states 
that  the  larva1  occur  on  Polygonum  <tm- 

phibium  in  England,  conclude-  that  the 
parent  deposits  eggs  at  the  root  of  it-  food  plant,  and  that  the  larvae 
are  consequently  aquatic,  coming  up  out  of  the  water  to  pupate  on 
leaves  and  stalks  of  aquatic  plant-.  He  also  describes  the  beetles  as 
turning  black  in  two  or  three  hours  after  transformation,  which  is 
not  true  of  this  species. 

Of  the  earlier  stages  in  America,  the  late  E.  (i.  Schaupp  described 
the  larva  in  lss:',,  briefly  characterizing  the  eg<rs  and  pupa.'  More 
detailed  descriptions  have  been  furnished  by  A.  I).  MacGillivray.d 
The  e<r<rS  are  ovate,  shining  yellow,  and  are  laid  in  small  patches 
of  from  6  to  '20  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  leaf.  Larva4,  pupae, 
and  beetles  in  all  stages  of  growth  were  observed  near  New  York 
City  in  July.    The  larva  i-  bluish-black  above,  and  yellow  on  the 


l-'ii.  !!».— Halt ructllu  mjmplm  <<  , 
alxmt  six.  times  enlarged  (.orig- 
inal). 


«  Memoires  pour  eervir  a  L'hlstoire  d«'s  Insectes,  Vol.  V,  pp.  326-329,  PI.  10, 
tigs.  1-6. 

6  The  Entomologist,  Vol.  XX,  pp.  178-181.  1887. 

'•  Bui.  Brooklyn  Ent  Soe.,  Vol.  VI,  i>.  ">4. 

d  Bill.  68,  N.  V.  State  Mus..  1903,  pp.  325,  326. 


60 


under  surface,  of  elongate  form,  when  full  grown  measuring  three- 
eighths  of  an  inch  in  length;  Avidest  at  the  middle,  and  tapering 
toward  either  extremity.  Many  larva?  are  frequently  found  together 
on  a  single  leaf,  where  they  eat  the  upper  surface,  doubtless  because 
the  lower  surface  of  the  leaves  of  the  natural  food  plants  rest  on 
the  water.  As  a  result  of  these  attacks  the  leaves  become  brown  and 
unsightly.    The  white  lily  is  less  affected  than  yellow  lilies. 

As  to  remedies,  the  arsenicals  are  quite  effective,  and  Paris  green 
is  reported  by  Mr.  Sudworth  as  checking  the  ravages  of  the  beetles 
on  willow.  When  spraying  bean  plants,  arsenate  of  lead  is  prefer- 
able, owing  to  the  danger  of  scalding  the  more  tender  leaves  if 
Paris  green  is  used.  When  this  species  occurs  in  troublesome  num- 
bers on  aquatic  plants  it  might  readily  be  destroyed  in  all  stages, 
and  especially  as  larva,  if  the  ponds,  fountains,  or  other  places  in 
which  the  lilies  are  growing  could  be  flooded  so  as  to  bring  the 
insects  to  the  surface.  A  few  drops  of  kerosene  spilled  on  the  water 
would  then  destroy  the  floating  insects.* 

GRASSHOPPER  CONDITIONS  IN  NEBRASKA,  NORTHEASTERN  COL- 
ORADO, WYOMING,  MONTANA,  AND  WESTERN  KANSAS  DURING 
THE  SUMMER  OF  1904. 

By  Lawrence  Bruner,  Temporary  Field  Agent. 

In  compliance  with  instructions  received  last  July,  the  writer  spent 
the  greater  portion  of  the  month  of  August  in  endeavoring  to  ascer- 
tain the  existing  status  of  the  grasshopper,  or  locust  plague,  through- 
out the  region  lying  to  the  east  of  the  main  divide  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  west  of  the  Missouri  River.  In  order  to  accomplish 
this  work  in  a  satisfactor}^  manner  several  journeys  were  undertaken 
over  the  various  lines  of  railroads  located  in  the  region  under  inves- 
tigation. The  officers  of  all  of  these  roads  cooperated  in  the  work 
by  kindly  providing  all  transportation  necessary  for  visiting  the 
various  localities  known  to  have  been  infested  by  these  insects  during 
recent  years. 

In  order  to  ascertain  more  clearly  the  conditions  in  Colorado,  the 
entomologist  of  the  State  Agricultural  College,  Prof.  C.  P.  Gil- 
lette was  consulted.  Visits  were  also  made  to  the  Agricultural 
College  of  Montana  and  to  the  State  University  of  Wyoming,  where 
important  data  bearing  on  the  subject  under  investigation  were 
obtained.  Some  additional  records  of  grasshopper  abundance  were 
gathered  from  the  daily  press  reports,  while  data  bearing  on  the 
presence  of  locusts  in  other  localities  not  visited  were  gleaned  from 
various  persons. 

By  carefully  arranging  and  studying  all  the  information  accumu- 
lated it  would  seem  that  the  general  status  of  the  locust  pest,  over 


61 


the  region  embraced  in  these  studies,  is  greatly  improving.  Practi- 
cally everywhere  these  insects  arc  rapidly  decreasing  and  getting 
down  to  their  normal  number-  or  even  below  the  normal.  Of  course, 
the  cau-e-  for  this  decrease  arc  various,  being  somewhat  different  in 
each  locality  affected.  These  causes  were  given  and  discussed  to  some 
extent  in  my  report  at  the  close  of  the  season's  work  during  the 
bummer  of  1901.- 

Augu-t  l\  L904,  the  writer  left  Lincoln  for  the  purpose  of  visiting 
southwestern  Nebraska  and  eastern  Colorado,  taking  a  daylight  train. 
A  careful  outlook  was  kept  from  the  car  window-  for  signs  of  locust 
injuries  or  the  presence  of  these  insects  in  more  than  ordinary  num- 
bers. Not  until  after  leaving  Oxford,  however,  were  such  indications 
observed.  But  from  a  few  mile-  west  of  thai  place  all  the  way  to 
McCotffe  it  was  clearly  indicated,  both  by  the  presence  of  the  insects 
on  weeds  along  the  right  of  way  and  by  more  or  less  damage  to  the 

outer  row-  of  Corn  growing  near  alfalfa  and  -mall  grain,  a-  well  as 
by  deserted  and  weedy  fields.  Bach  of  these  condition-  wafl  occa- 
sionally quite  apparent.  even  From  the  moving  train,  and  increased 
westward.  The  species  of  locusts  most  concerned  in  these  ravages 
were  two:  M chinophis  differentialis  Thos.  and  M.  h> vittat us  Say. 
These  two  forms  habitually  frequent  low  ground  and  other  areas 
overgrown  with  rank  vegetation. 

The  morning  of  Augu-t  3  was  spent  in  the  vicinity  of  McCook. 
Here  it  was  found  that  several  additional  specie-  of  locusts,  like  J/. 
wemur-rubrum  DeG.  and  J/,  atlanis  Riley,  were  quite  numerous,  both 
in  alfalfa  fields  and  on  the  prairies.  The  deserted  fields  which  had 
grown  up  to  rank-  weed-  were  the  home-  of  -till  other  species,  of  which 
.KoJo j,l us  rcyulis  ^vw\\(\vy  and  Melanoplw  lakinus  Scudder  were  the 
chief  forms.  These  latter  were  quite  partial  t<»  Russian  thistle  and 
jambs-quarters  as  food  plant-.  Hesperotettl.i  sperioxu*  Scudder. 
which  is  a  feeder  on  Helianthus,  was  very  common,  while  several  of 
the  grass-infesting  specie-  were  present  in  numbers  above  the  normal 
as  observed  during  ordinary  year-.  These  latter,  however,  were  con- 
centrated at  places  where  the  grasses  still  showed  green,  and  possibly, 
on  account  of  this  bunching,  their  abnormal  abundance  may  have  been 
only  seeming.  It  might  be  well  to  state  that  this  particular  region 
was  suffering  greatly  from  drought,  a  fact  which  undoubtedly  had 
much  to  do  in  causing  the  more  than  ordinary  locust  injury. 

Leaving  McCook,  the  writer  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  con- 
ditions along  the  Republican  Valley  almost  to  the  southwestern 
corner  of  the  State  Ju-t  beyond  the  junction  of  the  Frenchman 
and  the  Republican  rivers  it  was  noted  that  the  drought  conditions 
were  less  severe,  and  vegetation  improved  a-  we  progressed  west- 

o  See  Bui.  38,  n.  s.,  Divisou  of  Entomology,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  pp.  39-49,  1904. 


62 


ward.  Some  species  of  locusts  and  a  few  signs  of  their  injuries  were 
still  occasionally  apparent,  even  as  far  as  Haigler,  Nebr.  Here  a 
halt  of  over  a  day  was  made.  A  comparison  of  the  conditions  as 
found  here  this  year  with  those  of  a  year  ago  showed  a  great  improve- 
ment. Possibly  only  half  as  many  of  the  insects  were  present  this 
year  as  last,  and  these  were  pretty  well  bunched  in  certain  weed 
patches  and  alfalfa  fields  located  in  the  valley  near  the  river,  whereas 
last  year  they  were  quite  generally  distributed.  Beyond  Haigler  but 
few  locusts  were  found  in  hurtful  numbers,  indicating  that  this  local- 
ity  is  almost  on  the  western  boundary  line  of  the  plague.  From  Wray, 
Colo.,  all  the  way  to  Denver,  their  numbers  seemed  to  have  dwindled 
to  normal,  or  even  below.  At  least,  such  appeared  to  be  the  condition 
along  the  line  of  the  Burlington  Railway.  In  fact,  as  nearly  as  I 
was  able  to  ascertain,  this  condition  prevails  throughout  most  of 
Colorado  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  save  perhaps  in  two  or  three 
isolated  localities  in  the  valleys  of  the  Arkansas  and  South  Platte 
rivers  near  the  State  line.  The  diminution  in  their  numbers  appears 
to  be  due  chiefly  to  fungous  diseases  and  natural  enemies,  both  of 
which  seem  to  have  been  abnormally  effective  during  the  past  two  or 
three  years. 

All  of  the  region  lying  along  the  eastern  base  of  the  range  between 
Denver  and  Fort  Collins  was  at  this  time  remarkably  free  from  these 
insects.  None  whatever  were  seen  while  riding  between  the  two 
cities  named,  although  a  careful  watch  was  kept  throughout  the 
journey,  and  an  inquiry  at  the  agricultural  college  located  at  the 
latter  place  elicited  the  information  that  hoppers  were  scarce  in  Colo- 
rado, while  few  or  no  reports  had  been  received  the  present  season 
concerning  their  presence  or  ravages. 

Going  east  from  Fort  Collins,  a  few  of  the  insects,  it  was  learned, 
were  to  be  found  in  and  about  alfalfa  fields  in  the  vicinity  of 
Greeley.  Northward  from  Greeley  to  Cheyenne,  Wyo.,  no  species  of 
grasshoppers  were  seen  in  abnormal  numbers.  Nor  were  they  found 
to  be  present  along  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  between  Cheyenne 
and  Laramie  in  sufficient  numbers  to  be  noticeable.  At  Laramie  few 
individuals  of  any  species  were  to  be  seen,  although  several  trips 
were  made  for  the  special  purpose  of  obtaining  specimens.  Professor 
Buffum,  director  of  the  experiment  station,  who  does  the  entomolog- 
ical work  in  that  State,  also  informed  me  that,  so  far  as  he  knew, 
similar  conditions  prevailed  over  much  of  the  State  of  Wyoming. 

Leaving  Laramie  and  proceeding  eastward  over  the  Union  Pa- 
cific Railway,  no  grasshopper  signs  were  visible  at  any  point  between 
Cheyenne  and  North  Platte.  Tt  was  ascertained  by  inquiry  that 
although  considerable  injury  had  been  done  by  locusts  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  even  as  recently  as  the  year  19Q3,  they  appeared 
to  have  dwindled  to  such  an  extent  that  this  year  they  were  not 


63 


present  in  numbers  above  normal.  Then,  too,  the  person  in  charge 
of  the  branch  of  the  Nebraska  Experiment  Station  located  near  that 
place  reported  Like  condition-.  A-  the  train  approached  Gothen- 
burg, and  from  that  point  as  far  eastward  a-  Kearney,  some  signs 
of  local  abundance  and  slight  injury  by  two  or  three  species  were 
apparent.  Now  and  then  corn  field-  and  weed  patches  adjoining 
alfalfa  field-  showed  their  ravage-.     In  two  instances  magnificent 

examples  of  the  usefulness  of  birds  as  Locust  destroyers  wore  noted. 
In  both  cases  the  birds  in  question  wore  gulls,  possibly  Franklin's 
or  the  laughing  gull.  These  birds  were  present  in  Hocks  of  fifty  or 
more  and  wore  congregated  on  alfalfa  fields  which  showed  decided 
mark- of  Locust  injuries:  and  it  w  a- plainly  evident  from  their  actions 
that  the  bird-  wore  feeding,  since  some  of  them  were  on  the  ground 
and  other-  in  the  ail'.  One  of  these  flock-  wa-  near  Gothenburg  and 
the  other  not  far  from  Kearney.  Some  day-  afterward-  a  gentle- 
man from  the  latter  place  told  me  of  a  similar  sight  thai  lie  himself 
had  witnessed.  It  i-  probable  that  these  bird-  wore  nesting  on  the 
artificial  Lakes  made  by  damming  up  the  month-  of  ravine-  in  con- 
nection with  irrigation  and  power  ditches  in  the  vicinity,  and  were 
occupied  in  foraging. 

There  appeared  to  be  no  locn-t  injuries  along  the  Platte  Valley 
much  Lower  down  stream  than  Kearney,  although  it  was  followed  as 
far  a-  Grand  Island,  where  a  change  wa-  made  to  the  Burlington 
road  SO  as  to  reach  Lincoln  via  Aurora  and  York. 

Leaving  home  again  on  Augn-t  in.  and  going  by  way  of  the 
Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railroad  up  the  Elkhorn,  the  writer  (lid 

not  observe  hoppers  in  hurtful  numbers  east  of  Chadron  and  Craw- 
ford on  the  Little  White  River.  Even  here  a  comparison  with  con- 
dition- a-  observed  by  the  writer  a  year  ago  showed  the  pest  to  be 
largely  on  the  decline.  Scarcely  any  trace-  of  injury  wore  visible 
feven  about  the  edge-  of  eornlield-  adjoining  alfalfa  and  weed 
patches — the  localities  most  commonly  frequented  by  the  species  of 
locust-  most  abundant  here.  The  journey  was  continued  westward 
as  far  as  Casper,  Wvo..  w  here  in  L901  considerable  grasshopper  injury 
occurred,  a-  observed  by  the  writer  during  a  visit  made  at  the  time. 
A  trip  into  the  country  a  few  mile-  from  Casper  showed  but  few 
Locusts.  Even  the  usually  abundant  prairie  or  plains  forms  were 
below  the  normal  in  number-,  and  in  some  places  decidedly  scarce. 
Inquiries  among  ranchmen  elicited  the  information  that  the  pest  was 
gradually  becoming  scarcer  throughout  the  alfalfa  growing  district 
to  the  southeast  of  the  town,  where  some  marked  damage  had  been 
done  by  the  insects  as  late  as  a  year  ago.  Returning  to  Crawford, 
Nebr.,  a  -top  was  made  in  order  to  observe  conditions  away  from 
the  town  and  railroad.  The  result  vas  as  stated  for  Casper.  From 
here  the  writer  returned  to  Lincoln  over  the  Billings  and  Black  Hills 


64 


branch  of  the  Burlington,  but  no  locust  depredations  were  encoun- 
tered or  reported  en  route. 

Learning  that  several  good  rains  had  fallen  since  his  former  visit 
to  the  upper  Republican  Valley,  the  writer,  on  August  IT  and  18, 
made  a  second  trip  to  southwestern  Nebraska.  At  this  time  vegeta- 
tion was  greatly  improved  in  appearance  and  the  hoppers  were  some- 
what scattered  as  compared  with  two  weeks  before. 

The  last  trip  of  the  month  was  made  to  northern  Wyoming  and 
portions  of  Montana,  where  last  year  considerable  locust  injury 
occurred  both  in  cultivated  districts  and  on  the  ranges.  While 
locusts  were  this  year  normally  abundant  in  the  valley  of  the 
Yellowstone  River  from  a  short  distance  above  Billings  nearly  to 
Livingston,  their  work  was  only  occasionally  perceptible  from  the 
car  windows.  In  this  particular  district  the  reports  of  greatest 
injury  came  from  Red  Lodge  and  vicinity,  not  far  from  the  Wyoming 
line.  Here  the  species  concerned  were  chiefly  Aulocara  elliotti  Thorn., 
A.  femoratum  Scudd.,  and  several  other  plains-inhabiting  species 
like  Melanoplus  infantilis  Scudd.,  M.  occidentalis  Thorn.,  M.  pack- 
ardii  Scudd.,  Cordillacris  occipitalis  Thorn.,  and  Mestobregma  kiowa 
Thorn.  Besides  being  infested  with  abnormal  numbers  of  these 
insects,  the  region  in  question,  as  well  as  much  of  the  adjoining 
territory,  was  badly  affected  by  drought.  These  two  causes  com- 
bined to  render  the  grazing  exceedingly  poor.  Considering  the 
dwindling  in  numbers  from  last  year  to  the  present  time  it  seems 
that  the  pest  is  quite  certainly  on  the  decrease,  even  in  the  district 
of  greatest  abundance. 

August  23  to  25,  inclusive,  a  drive  was  taken  through  the  Galla- 
tin valleys  in  company  with  President  Reed  and  Professor  Cooley  of 
the  Montana  Agricultural  College.  No  locust  injuries  of  importance 
were  found,  but  in  certain  areas  several  species  Avere  present  in  num- 
bers most  certainly  above  normal  for  the  district.  There  were  two 
species  of  Melanoplus,  a  form  of  atlanis  and  an  undetermined  species, 
and  Camnula  pellucida  Scudd.  Last  year  a  much  more  extended 
district  was  overrun.  Encoptolophns  sordidus  Burm.,  which  was 
abundant  in  1903,  was  rare  this  year. 

A  visit  to  Helena  and  the  immediately  adjoining  regions  showed 
the  various  local  species  of  locusts  to  be  much  below  the  normal  in 
abundance  as  compared  with  former  years. 

While  no  work  was  done  in  western  Kansas  and  southeastern  Colo- 
rado, it  was  learned  through  others  that  some  locust  damage  occurred 
in  tin'  vicinity  of  Garden  City,  Kans.,  among  the  alfalfa  fields,  but 
efforts  at  remedying  the  evil  were  being  made.  Machines  were  in  use, 
poisoning  with  the  bran-arsenic  mixture  was  regularly  carried  on, 
and  large  flocks  of  turkeys  were  being  employed  to  rid  the  fields  of 
the  pest. 


65 


NOTES  ON  THE  BEHAVIOR  OF  THE  COLORADO  POTATO  BEETLE 

IN  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

( Li€pttitotQT8Q  [Doryphora]  decetnlineata  Say). 
By  FugD.  v.  Theobald. 

Wye  Court,  Wye%  England. 

The  advent  of  the  Colorado  potato  beetle  into  Great  Britain  in 
1901  gave  rise  t<>  grave  apprehensions,  which,  judging  from  its  behav- 
ior during  it >  stay  on  our  shores,  were  certainly  not  unfounded. 
For  once  tin'  country  was  prepared  t<>  deal  drastically  with  this 
Unwelcome  intruder,  for  a  hill  hail  been  passed  by  hoth  House-  of 
Parliament  in  ls77  by  means  of  w  hich  the  existing  hoard  of  agricul- 
ture ha-  power  to  take  over  land  infested  with  the  Colorado  potato 
hectic  so  as  to  injure  it-  eradication.  The  necessity  of  this  measure 
was  amply  shown  during  1901  and  L902  when  the  "spearman"*  was 
present  in  t  lii-  count  rv. 

The  lew  note-  I  made  on  the  general  behavior  of  this  hectic  during 

it-  -lay  with  u-  may  not  he  unwelcome  to  tho-c  in  whose  land  it 
flourishes,  and  of  interest  to  other-  into  whose  country  it  may  any 
day  he  imported.  I  believe  the  British  invasion  is  only  the  third 
thai  has  occurred  in  Europe,  the  tw<>  previous  outbreaks  having 
occurred  in  Germany  some  year-  ago. 

'1  he  beetle  was  reported  to  the  officials  at  the  board  of  agriculture 
in  August,  L901,  a-  being  present  in  some  allotment-  in  Tilbury 

Dockyard.  (  )u  the  22d  of  that  month  I  visited  the  dockyard  and 
found  tin1  beetles  very  active  and  full  of  generative  vitality.  They 
were  not  numerous,  some  two  dozen  or  more  only  being  observed,  hut 
many  more  had  evidently  been  at  work  and  some  had  been  collected 
and  killed.  At  this  time  they  wen'  depositing  eggs,  and  I  found 
larvie  in  nil  stages  of  development.  At  a  glance  one  could  see  that 
the  beetles  had  been  at  work  some  time;  probably  the  colony  had  been 
there  -oine  month-  before  it  was  detected.  The  potatoes  were 
noticeably  defoliated,  hut  mainly,  it  seemed,  by  the  Larvae  and  not  by 
the  adults.  The  hectic-  did  not  seem  to  take  wing,  but  were  most 
active,  crawling  about  in  the  bright  sunshine.  I  never  saw  one  take 
wing  in  the  open,  hut  those  I  brought  away  for  further  observation 
became  most  active  in  the  breeding  cages,  frequently  using  their  rosy 
wings  and  dashing  up  against  the  glass  of  the  cages.  Later  I  noticed 
them  in  my  garden  taking  short  flights  under  their  muslin  tents. 
The  land  where  this  colony  had  taken  up  it-  abode  was  treated  in 

"A  name  sunietin.es  given  to  the  Colorado  potato  beetle,  based  on  tbe  old 
generic  term  I  >orv|»bora. 

2st::;>— No.  54—05  m  5 


66 


a  very  drastic  manner  by  the  board  of  agriculture's  officials,  but  as 
avc  shall  see,  without  clearing  the  land  completely  of  this  serious  pest. 
The  potato  haulm  a  was  cleared  and  fired  with  paraffin  and  the  ground 
heavily  coated  with  gas  lime  and  later  plowed  up.  The  land  was 
also  soaked  with  paraffin,  and  gas  lime  was  put  on  at  the  rate  of 
60  tons  per  acre.  I  may  here  mention  that  one  of  the  inspectors  of 
the  board  of  agriculture  and  myself  found  that  the  beetles  could  live 
in  a  tin  of  gas  lime  unharmed ;  one  would  not,  therefore,  expect  this 
unknown  quantity  to  be  effective  against  the  adults,  although  its 
caustic  properties  should  destroy  larva?  and  pupae.  It  does  not  do 
so,  however,  for  reasons  which  I  shall  point  out. 

The  land  and  the  neighboring  plats  of  potatoes  and  the  district  for 
some  3  miles  around  were  examined  later  and  no  further  specimens 
were  found.  I  went  to  Tilbury  again  on  September  IT,  1901,  and 
could  find  no  trace  of  beetles,  larvae,  or  eggs  around  the  invaded  area. 
I  brought  some  twenty  beetles  and  larvae  away  with  me  on  the  first 
visit  arid  kept  these  in  confinement  in  breeding  cages  under  safe  guard- 
ianship in  my  garden.  The  larvae  all  became  mature  by  September  23. 
In  very  few  cases  did  I  notice  the  beetles  feeding,  but  the  larvae, 
especially  in  their  closing  stages,  were  most  ravenous.  Besides 
potato,  I  fed  some  on  tomato  and  found  they  did  not  thrive  so  well, 
others  on  deadly  nightshade  (Atropa  belladonna)  and  on  sow  thistle 
(Sonchus  oleraceiis)^  on  both  of  which  they  flourished  admirably. 
Some  eggs  were  found  on  the  sow  thistle  at  Tilbury;  hence  I  tried 
it  as  a  food  plant.  Soon  after  bringing  the  specimens  home  I  found 
that  the  adults  readily  buried  themselves  in  the  earth  when  the 
weather  was  dull  and  cool.  Several  adults  which  I  took  in  August 
lived  until  the  following  spring,  a  feAV  died,  and  others  deposited  eggs. 
The  eggs  found  at  Tilbury  varied  greatly  in  color  according  to  age, 
some  being  yellow,  others  deep  orange.  The}^  varied  in  number  in 
I  lie  last  batch  from  9  up  to  40.  The  beetles,  it  seemed,  did  not  mind 
whether  they  laid  the  eggs  on  the  upper  or  under  sides  of  the  leaves. 
Those  laid  in  my  garden  were  nearly  all  on  the  upper  surface,  while 
those  at  Tilbury  were  mostly  seen  on  the  under  surface. 

The  egg  stage  lasted  with  us  ten  days,  and  in  one  case  seventeen,  the 
larval  stage  from  three  to  five  weeks,  and  the  pupal  stage  from  seven 
to  ten  days  in  summer.  One  larva  lived  seven  weeks  and  then  died. 
A  few  larvae  existed  for  (wo  weeks  without  any  food  and  eventually 
transformed  to  adults  after  being  fed. 

To  my  surprise,  one  warm  day  in  November,  some  dozen  beetles 
'  Mine  out  of  (he  ground  and  remained  on  the  surface  in  a  sluggish 
condition,  but  before  nightfall  they  had  buried  themselves  again. 
1  dug  up  the  ground  in  January  and  found  they  were  all  lying  about 


"  I  )ry  stalks,  stubbie. — Ed. 


67 


6  inches  down  in  the  soil.  Although  the  land  was  lumpy,  they  had 
gone  into  the  solid  >oil  and  did  not  shelter  under  the  clods  or  stones. 
Certainly  all  those  I  kept  passed  the  winter  in  the  adult  condition. 

In  my  laboratory  they  came  out  of  their  winter  quarters  in  March. 
I>nt  in  the  open  not  until  April  17.  and  the  Last  on  May  4.  Some 
early  potatoes  had  been  planted  with  them  and  they  commenced  egg 
laying  on  May  "JO.  All  these  check  specimens  were  then  killed. 
( )ne  could  tell  at  a  glance  from  their  dingy  color  that  they  were  hiber- 
nating, and  as  none  had  appeared  to  my  knowledge  by  that  date  at 
Tilbury  it  was  hoped  the  measures  taken  by  the  hoard  had  been  suffi- 
cient.  On  the  contrary,  the  beetles  had  survived  the  rough  usage, 
and  fresh  specimens  were  reported  at  the  end  of  May  on  the  same 

land.  I  went  there  on  dune  2  for  the  hoard  and  found  the  beetles 
emerging  from  the  ground  in  -mall  number-,  and  was  at  once  -truck 
by  the  difference  in  appearance  between  them  and  those  I  had  so 
recently  killed  at  home.    One  could  easily  see  that  they  were  only 

jn-t  hatched,  the  elytra  being  soft  and  almost  cream  colored  between 

the  dark  line-.  One  of  the  Inspectors  noticed  them  emerging  from 
the  ground  that  had  been  treated  in  the  previous  autumn  with  gas 
lime  and  paraffin. 

There  is  not  the  least  doubt  that  these  specimens  had  just  hatched 
from  pupa?.  A-  i-  well  know  n,  the  pupa?,  especially  in  light,  friable 
-oil  like  that  at  Tilbury,  are  found  at  a  great  depth,  50  that  in  this 
case  neither  the  gas  lime,  paraffin,  nor  plowing  had  affected  them. 
The  land  wa-  only  plowed  to  a  depth  of  1<>  inches  and  many  larva1 
may  well  have  previously  burrowed  deeper  than  that  and  so  have 
escaped  harm. 

We  thus  had  the  in-ect  living  in  two  way-  with  n-  during  the  win- 
ter, namely,  as  adults  and  as  pupae.  The  latter  i-.  I  believe,  excep- 
tional in  America,  although  my  friend.  Doctor  I  low  aid.  tell-  me  it 
has  been  observed  by  Professor  Smith. 

Very  few  specimens  were  found  in  1902  and  these  were  dealt  with 
by  constant  hand  picking.  During  the  la-t  two  years  none  have  been 
seen  at  Tilbury,  so  that  we  may  safely  say  that  the  energies  of  the 
officials  in  charge  have  been  rewarded  with  success. 

Another  -care  occurred  in  L904,  live  specimens  being  taken  to  the 
Hereford  Museum,  but  these  had  been  brought  over  by  a  lady  from 
the  United  States  as  curios,  little  knowing  the  penalty  attaching  to 
the  introduction  of  the  live  insects  into  this  country. 

I  think  we  may  safely  say  that  Leptinotarsa  decemlineata  does  not 
now  exist  in  this  country,  but  that  it  can  flourish  to  a  remarkable 
degree  has  become  a  well-established  fact. 

One  point  of  interest  I  may  mention  in  conclusion — namely,  that  it 
-oon  found  an  enemy  in  Britain  in  the  form  of  the  larval  seven- 
spotted  ladybird  (Coccinella  If -punctata  Linn.).    These  larvae  are 


68 


normally  aphis  feeders,  but  I  found  quite  a  number  at  Tilbury, 
which  were  observed  in  several  instances  feeding  on  the  Colorado 
potato  beetle's  eggs,  devouring  them  most  greedily;  and  I  can  not 
help  thinking  that  they  did  much  of  the  work  in  getting  rid  of  the 
enemy.  The  eggs  of  this  ladybird  were  deposited  on  the  potatoes 
and  were  sent  in,  in  many  instances,  as  Colorado  potato  beetle  eggs. 
They  certainly  present  a  general  rough  likeness,  but  can  at  once  be 
told  by  their  smaller  size  and  paler  yellow  hue.  The  pupa?  of  this 
beneficial  insect  also  bear  a  slight  resemblance  to  those  of  the  potato 
"bug''  and  have  frequently  been  sent  in  as  such.  They  are  very 
much  smaller  in  size,  however,  and  could  not  be  mistaken  by  an 
expert. 

AN  EXPERIENCE  WITH  HYDROCYANIC- ACID  GAS  AS  A  BJ  MED Y 
FOR  THE  CIGARETTE  BEETLE  IN  DWELLINGS. 

By  F.  H.  Chittenden  and  F.  C.  Pratt. 

During  the  first  week  of  September,  1904,  two  persons  residing  in 
the  northeast  section  of  Washington,  1).  C,  complained  of  injury 
to  furniture,  rugs,  and  tapestry  in  their  dwelling  houses,  submitting 
specimens  of  the  larva  and  adult  of  the  cigarette  beetle  (Lasioderma 
serricorne  Fab.)  as  the  cause  of  their  troubles.  The  first  house- 
holder was  very  fearful  lest  the  insects  would  spread  from  the  only 
room  infested  to  others,  including  one  containing  a  valuable  library; 
and  the  other,  a  lady,  was  in  an  exceedingly  nervous  condition, 
brought  about  through  her  ineffectual  struggles  to  evict  the  "  bugs'1 
from  her  domicile.  Gasoline,  benzine,  k"  black  flag/'  and  various 
other  insecticides,  including  formaldehyde,  had  been  used  without 
avail,  as  had  also  red  pepper.  The  insects  were  believed,  and  with 
reason,  to  have  fed  and  multiplied  on  the  last-mentioned  substance. 

As  no  experiments  had  hitherto  been  made  with  the  hydrocyanic- 
acid  gas  treatment  for  this  insect,  experiments  were  instituted  in  the 
second  house.  A  visit  to  this  house  showed  injury  plainly  visible  on 
the  upholstered  furniture,  and  the  edges  of  a  carpet  were  frayed. 
Numbers  of  beetles  and  their  larva1  were  observed,  the  last  in  cells 
preparatory  to  pupation. 

Experiment  No.  1. — The  gas  was  used  at  the  usual  strength — 1 
ounce  of  cyanide  of  potash  to  100  cubic  feet  of  space,  the  doors  and 
windows  being  quite  securely  closed.  The  exposure  was  seventeen 
hours.  1'poii  aerating  the  following  morning  many  beetles  were 
found  apparently  dead  on  (he  floor  and  were  swept  up  and  kept  in 
a  box  to  ascertain  if  they  might  revive.  All  died,  however,  and  the 
result  w  as  looked  upon  as  satisfactory. 

Experiment  No.  L  -About  two  weeks  later  more  adults  were 
noticed  about  the  bouse,  and  as  they  continued  to  accumulate  notice 


69 


was  given  to  this  office,  and  a  stronger  test  was  recommended,  three 
times  the  usual  strength — that  is.  3  ounces  of  cyanide  of  potash  to 
100  cubic  feet  of  space — and  a  longer  exposure.  This  was  applied 
September  28,  and  renewal  was  made  the  following  day,  twenty- 
three  hours  later,  arrangements  having  been  made  so  that  jars  con- 
taining fresh  acid  could  bo  introduced  and  charged  with  cyanide 
through  a  window.  The  second  exposure  lasted  nineteen  hours,  or 
practically  forty-two  hour-  in  all. 

•  Prior  to  experiment  it  was  ascertained  that  the  insects  had  been 
breeding  in  the  lower  covering  of  the  chair-.  Dozen-  of  Lame  were 
found  between  the  covering  and  the  webbing  which  was  nailed  across 
the  latter. 

After  airing  the  Infested  room  hundreds  of  larvae  were  observed 
that  had  fallen  from  the  lower  covering  of  chair-  (which  had  pre- 
viously been  ripped  oil'  to  facilitate  the  effed  of  the  gas)  to  the  floor, 
ami  all  adult-  observed  were  dead,  a-  were  al-o  house  flies.  Some  of 
the  larvae  and  beetle-  which  had  been  subjected  to  treatment  were 
placed  in  a  rial  to  determine  the  effect  of  the  experiment.  They  all 
died,  but  considerably  later  it  was  found  necessary  to  dispose  of  the 

chair-,  a-  they  were  -till  infested. 

Ow  ing  to  the  failure  of  our  first  experiment  with  hydrocyanic-acid 
ga-  against  the  cigarette  beetle,  a-  al-o  of  another  experiment  on  the 
confused  Horn-  beetle  (Tribotium  confv&um  Duv.),  it  was  suspected 
that  something  might  be  wrong  with  the  ingredient-,  and  accordingly 
a  sample  of  cyanide  of  potash  was  selected  at  random  and  submitted 
to  Mr.  J,  K.  Haywood,  of  the  Bureau  of  ( Chemistry,  for  analysis.  He 
reported  that  it  contained  -)~A^  per  cent  cyanogen.  !>..~>7  per  cent 
chlorine,  and  the  remainder  a  mixture  of  potassium  and  sodium,  the 

analysis  showing  that  this  sample  was  not  the  product  paid  for:  in 

other  words,  not  98  per  cent  potassium  cyanide,  but  a  mixture  of 
potassium  cyanide,  -odium  cyanide,  and  -odium  chloride.  The  three 
compounds  were  present  in  such  proportions  that  the  mixture  yielded 
|P3  per  cent  of  the  amount  of  hydrocyanic-acid  gas  it  should  yield  if 
the  -ample  were  pure  potassium  cyanide,  and  yet  the  amount  of  cyan- 
ogen which  might  be  produced  by  this  mixture  could  be  53  per  cent, 
whereas  in  pure  potassium  cyanide  it  is  40  per  cent. 

In  the  second  test  against  this  species  the  potassium  cyanide  was 
psed  three  times  as  strong  a-  in  the  first.  In  the  meantime,  a  sample 
was  being  analyzed  by  Mr.  J.  K.  Haywood.  His  results  were  as 
follows : 

Per  cent. 


Potassium  cyanide  51.70 

Sodium  cyanide   2.07 

Sodium  chloride   3.80 

Potassium  carbonate  39.28 

Other  impurities   2.  7(5 

Moisture   0.30 


70 


This  analysis  showed  that  the  sample  on  treatment  with  sulphuric 
acid  yielded  only  54.50  per  cent  of  the  amount  of  hydrocyanic  acid 
demanded  by  theory  for  pure  potassium  cyanide.  An  examination  of 
the  residue  from  the  sample  after  treatment  with  sulphuric  acid  was 
also  made,  and  it  was  found  that  the  blue  color  of  this  residue  ap- 
peared to  be  due  to  Prussian  blue  (ferric  ferrocyanide) ,  a  compound 
left  in  the  mixture  by  a  faulty  method  of  manufacture. 

Mr.  Haywood  also  made  an  examination  of  two  samples  of  flour 
which  had  been  treated  with  hydrocyanic-acid  gas  October  11  for 
Tribolium  confusum,  with  the  result  that  no  traces  of  the  acid  were 
to  be  found  in  either  sample,  showing  that  the  flour  is  not  affected 
in  any  way  by  this  method  of  fumigation. 

NOTES  ON  FULLER'S  ROSE  BEETLE  IN  1904. 

By  Fdk.  Maskew,  Long  Beach,  Cal. 

The  following  notes  are  compiled  from  observations  on  Fuller's 
rose  beetle  (Aramigus  fulleri  Horn)  made  by  the  writer  during  the 
season  of  1904  in  Los  Angeles  County,  Cal. 

Throughout  the  month  of  May  larva?  of  all  sizes  were  abundant  in 
the  infested  berry  fields,  both  in  the  strawberry  plants  and  in  the 
surrounding  soil.  The  greatest  depth  at  which  larva?  were  found  in 
the  strawberry  fields  approximated  5  inches.  In  the  case  of  black- 
berry and  logan  berry  they  were  found  attacking  the  roots  at  a 
depth  of  from  15  to  18  inches. 

May  23,  in  the  soil  surrounding  a  strawberry  plant,  the  first  pupa 
w  as  found.  This  plant,  while  wilted,  was  still  green,  and  contained 
no  grubs  in  the  borings  in  the  stem.  The  writer  was  unable  to  esti- 
mate the  depth  at  which  the  pupa  was  found,  since  it  came  up  in  a 
trowel  full  of  loose  soil. 

June  17  the  first  beetle  was  noticed.  It  was  feeding  on  the  foliage 
of  an  ornamental  shrub,  Lagunaria  pattersonii.  During  this  month 
beetles  became  numerous. 

July  29  the  writer  was  asked  by  a  local  nurseryman  what  was  the 
matter  witli  a  large  potted  ornamental  asparagus  (Asparagus  plu- 
mosus  nanus).  The  plant  presented  a  very  sickly  appearance,  the 
stems.being  hard  and  dry,  and  the  foliage  yellow.  Finding  no  evi- 
dence of  scale  insects  or  mealy  bugs,  the  roots  were  investigated,  with 
i he  result  that  s|  larvae  and  pupae  of  Fuller's  rose  beetle  were  found 
in  the  -oil  and  upon  the  roots  contained  in  the  10-inch  pot.  The  pot 
and  plant  had  been  suspended  from  the  rafter  of  a  lath  house  and 
had  not  been  disturbed  for  eleven  months. 

August  L9  a  beetle  was  observed  in  the  act  of  ovipositing.  The 
i  ggs,  -2<'>  in  number,  were  laid  in  an  irregular  mass  upon  the  upper  sur- 
face of  the  foliage  of  a  crested  wattle  (AlMzzia  lophantha),  a  potted 


71 


plant.  The  foliage  was  about  feet  above  the  ground,  and  above  the 
egg  mass  it  was  drawn  together  and  fastened  by  a  webby  substance. 
These  eggs,  placed  in  a  phial  and  carried  in  the  pocket,  hatched 
August  24.    Many  egg  masses  were  subsequently  found  and  hatched 

Ollt. 

The  beetles  were  very  numerous  and  destructive  during  the  months 
of  August  ;ind  September  <>n  ornamental  trees  and  plants  in  the 
nursery  yards,  no  plants  except  different  species  of  Auricarias  being 
exempt  from  attack.  They  appeared  t<>  cat  the  foliage  of  the  castor 
bean  with  as  much  gusto  a-  that  <>t'  the  Lima  bean,  and  the  pungent 
flavor  of  the  young  grow  th  of  the  camphor,  pepper,  and  the  different 
eucalypti  apparently  suited  their  palate-  equally  as  well  as  the  succu- 
lent young  growth  of  canna.  They  were  repeatedly  taken  at  work 
on  the>e  plant.-.  The  foliage  of  all  -pecie-  of  acacia  for  sale  here  is 
greedily  eaten,  excepting  perhaps  .1.  i  ultriformis  and  .1.  armata,  and 
the  writer  ha-  -ecu  the  market  value — *"J..">0 — of  potted  camellias  and 
Sterculia  acerifolia  destroyed  by  these  pests  in  twenty-four  hours. 

While  at  Oceanside,  San  Diego  County.  September  the  writer 
noticed,  in  the  orchard  of  the  Rev,  Mr.  Dodd,  a  large  number  of 
insect  castings  on  the  foliage.  While  searching  for  the  cause,  an 
immature  and  apparently  sound  apple  dropped  to  the  ground.  An 
examination  showed  that  it-  stem  had  been  freshly  severed  by  some 
insect  Mr.  Dodd.  on  having  hi-  attention  called  to  this,  stated  that, 
he  had  found  a  brown  beetle  eating  the  -tern-,  and  upon  Investigation 
the  writer  traced  the  injury  to  Fuller's  rose  beetle,  the  culprit  being 
found  at  work  in  -evcral  instances.  Time  wa-  very  limited  here 
and  no  opportunity  was  offered  of  studying  this  interesting  phase  of 
the  subject. 

This  insect,  in  ;ill  of  it-  Stages,  ha-  been  found  by  the  writer,  from 

Carpinteria,  Santa  Barbara  County,  to  El  Cajon,  San  Diego  County. 

THE  GIANT  SUGAR-CANE  BORER. 

{Ciutnia  Hens  Fab.  > 
P»y  C.  L.  Marlatt. 

The  appearance  of  an  important  new  sugar-cane  pest  in  Demerara, 
British  Guiana,  ha-  some  interest  for  us.  inasmuch  as  the  West 
Indian  sugar-cane  borer,  also  known  a-  the  "  larger  cornstalk-borer" 
(Diatrcea  saccharalis  Fab.),  for  many  year-  an  important  enemy  of 
cane  and  corn  in  the  United  States,  traveled  northward  through  the 
West  Indian  I-land-  from  the  same  region,  reaching  Louisiana  at  an 
early  date  and  now  ranging  a-  far  north  as  Virginia  and  Maryland. 

That  this  new  cane  bisect  may  come  north  seems  doubtful,  as  the 
family  to  which  it  belong>  i-  essentially  tropical.  While  belonging  to 
an  entirely  distinct  family,  the  habits  of  this  new  cane  pest  closely  par- 


72 


allel  the  older  and  better-known  enemy  of  this  staple.  The  adults, 
larvse,  pupa?,  and  eggs  of  this  insect,  together  with  canes  showing 
the  larval  burrows  and  containing  the  larvae,  were  transmitted  to 
Col.  G.  B.  Brackett,  pomologist  of  the  Department,  by  Mr.  B.  Howell 
Jones,  of  Georgetown,  Demerara,  who  gave  a  rather  interesting 
account  of  it  in  a  letter  which  is  quoted  below.  The  insect  proved  to 
be  Castnia  licus  Fab.,  and  the  only  known  food  habit  hitherto  re- 
corded is  the  breeding  of  the  larvae  in  the  Upper  Orinoco  in  the  roots 
of  an  orchid.  As  shown  in  Westwood's  Monograph  of  the  genus 
Castnia  (Transactions  of  the  Linnaean  Society,  2d  series,  Zoology, 
Vol.  I,  p.  173,  1875,  and  by  Herbert  Druce  in  his  Lepidoptera- 
Heterocera  (Biologia  Centrali  Americana,  Vol.  I,  p.  26,  1883),  this 
insect  has  been  collected  in  Nicaragua,  Costa  Rica,  Ecuador,  east 
Peru  and  Bolivia,  Guiana,  Trinidad,  Amazons,  and  Brazil.  Accord- 
ing to  Druce,  it  is  a  scarce  insect  in  Central  America,  but  seems  to  be 
more  abundant  in  its  more  southern  range. 

The  material  sent  by  Mr.  Jones  was  so  ample  and  in  such  an 
excellent  state  of  preservation  that  it  seemed  worth  while  to  have 
careful  drawings  made,  which  are  reproduced  for  this  note.  (PI. 
IV.)  The  large  size  of  this  insect,  in  comparison  with  Diatrcea  sac- 
charalis,  commonly  known  in  this  country  as  the  "  larger  cornstalk- 
borer  "  to  distinguish  it  from  the  smaller  cornstalk-borer  {Elasmo- 
palpus  Ughosellus),  warrants  the  application  of  the  term  given  at 
the  head  of  this  article  to  this  new  cane  pest.  The  assumption  of 
the  cane-feeding  habit  by  this  insect  is  another  illustration  of  the 
sudden  development  of  an  injurious  food  habit  in  an  insect  which  for 
years  has  had  no  economic  importance,  and  shows  how  little  can  be 
predicted  of  any  insect  from  its  known  food  habits.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  this  insect  will  not  develop  a  northern  trend  through  the  West 
Indies  as  did  its  forerunner,  the  larger  cornstalk-borer.  The  fact 
that  it  is  not  especially  abundant  in  its  northern  range  in  Central 
America  is  an  element  of  security,  but  can  not  necessarily  be  relied 
upon,  because  this  scarcity  may  be  due  to  a  lack  of  suitable  plants  in 
which  it  can  breed.  Mr.  Jones's  letter  is  a  most  interesting  contri- 
bution to  the  knowledge  of  the  history  of  this  insect,  and  it  is  signifi- 
cant that  now  that  it  has  found  a  food  plant  furnishing  abundant 
means  of  reproduction  it  breeds  in  enormous  numbers.  I  quote  the 
letter  referred  to  in  full: 

Georgetown,  Demerara,  British  Guiana, 

November  2H-  Jf)0.'h 

B.  Brackett,  Esq. 

Deab  Sir:  I  ;iin  taking  the  liberty  of  sending  you  ;i  small  box  containing  the 
ej^s.  caterpillars,  chrysalis,  and  butterfly  that  has  been  doing  some  damage  to 
some  of  our  cane  fields,  it  is  entirely  now  to  us  here,  though  some  planters  say 
they  have  soon  it  before,  hut  they  did  not  think  it  did  much  damage.  In  the 
present  case  it  is  doing  a  great  deal  of  damage,  and  a  few  children  with  nets 


Bui  54.  Bureau  of  Entomology,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.culture. 


Plate  IV. 


* 


d 


■  M 


Castnia  licus  Fab. 

Female  moth:  b,  larva.  lateral  view:  r.  lirst  abdominal  segment  with  proleg;  d,  egg;  e  pupa 
\  cut  ml  view:  ./.  pupa,  dorsal  view:  y.  spiraeular  cleft:  //.  abdominal  segment,  enlarged  to 
snow  row  s  ot  retlexed  spines:  i.  segment  of  cane  showing  larval  burrow  and  larva— larva 
pupa,  ami  moth  natural  size— egg  and  anatomical  details  variously  enlarged— cane  one- 
halt  natural  size  (original). 


73 


have  caught  upward  of  ■  thousand  of  the  butterflies  in  a  week.  At  present  the 
attack  is  confined  to  one  estate,  hut.  of  coarse,  it  may  spread.  This  is  the  third 
year  it  lias  been  noticed.  In  the  two  first  years  comparatively  slight  damage 
was  done,  hut  at  present  time  a  trreat  deal  of  damage  has  heen  done.  The 
caterpillars  enter  the  cane  both  from  the  bottom,  close  to  the  root,  and  work 
upward  through  four  or  five  joints,  or  enter  above  and  wni-u  downward,  form- 
ing a  chrysalis  at  the  bottom  of  the  cane  or  in  the  ground  at  the  hase  of  the 
cane.  The  caterpillars  appear  in  Ootoher  and  November,  and.  as  this  is  our 
chief  reaping  season,  many  of  them  are  destroyed  by  the  mill.  They  have  heen 
found  in  fields  of  loose  vegetable  soil  which  have  been  top-dressed  with  filter- 
preSfl  refuse. 

My  object  In  Writing  to  you  is  to  ask  you  If  you  would  put  this  before  the 
entomologist  of  your  Department  to  see  if  the  butterfly  is  known,  and  to  ascer- 
tain its  name,  if  it  is.  it  also  ulght  he  Interesting  to  those  engaged  in  studying 
the  cultivation  of  sujrar  cane  and  the  disease  from  which  it  suffers. 

Hoping  I  am  not  giving  you  too  much  trouble  and  trespassing  on  your  kind- 
ness, believe  me.  yours  faithfully, 

p..  Rowell  Jones. 

In  a  subsequent  letter,  under  date  of  February  2,  1905,  Mr.  B. 
Howell  Jones  gives  the  additional  information  thai  the  plague  of 
these  insects  -till  continues  on  the  Knnmiv  e-tate  and  many  thousands 
of  the  moths  are  being  caught  weekly.  He  says  the  only  remedies  so 
far  practiced  an-  catching  the  moth-  and  destroying  the  grubs  when 
found.  An  attempt  to  attract  the  moth-  by  putting  a  strong  1  iirlit  in 
the  fields  at  night  was  without  success, 

SYSTEMATIC  RELATIONSHIP  and  DESCRIPTIVE  NOTES. 

The  family  Castnidse,  to  winch  this  insect  belongs,  include-  a  con- 
siderable number  of  very  showy  and  large  moth-  limited  to  the  neo- 
tropical region  and  more  abundant  in  South  America  than  in  Central 
America  and  Mexico,  one  species,  however,  having  been  reported  in 
the  United  States.  The  systematic  position  of  this  family  has  been 
the  subject  of  some  controversy  among  specialists.  On  account  of 
the  clubbed  antennae  and  general  showy  character  of  the  moths  they 
were  originally  assigned  to  the  Rhopalocera  and  to  the  genus  Papilio. 
The  discovery  of  the  Larval  and  pupa-  and  something  of  the  habits  of 
some  of  the  species  has  led  to  more  correct  idea-  of  their  relationships. 
In  larval  and  pupal  characteristics  one  is  reminded  of  Cossus.  The 
examination  of  the  material  submitted  by  B,  Howell  Jones  to  Doctor 
Dyar  led  him  immediately  to  place  them  in  the  family  Tineidse— an 
anomalous  disposition  in  view  of  their  great  size,  but  warranted  by 
evident  structural  character-.  The  habits  of  but  few  species  of  this 
genus  are  known,  and  these  agree  in  being  internal  feeders,  and  this 
is  probably  true  for  all.  In  this  particular  species  pupation  occurs 
within  the  larval  burrow.  Other  species,  however,  leave  the  burrow 
and   form  loose  cocoons.    The  following  brief  description  of  the 


74 


different  stages  is  appended,  not  as  a  technical  contribution,  but  as 
supplemental  to  the  plate  : 

Adult. — The  wing  expanse  of  the  adult  female  is  3  to  4  inches. 
The  male  is  smaller,  having  a  wing  expanse  of  2|  to  3  inches.  Con- 
siderable variation  is  exhibited  in  the  ornamentation  of  the  Avings, 
two  distinct  varieties  being  illustrated  in  the  material  in  the  Na- 
tional Museum.  The  general  color  is  rusty  brown.  The  forewings 
are  crossed  with  a  broad  diagonal  white  band;  the  posterior  wings 
have  a  similar  band,  broader  and  less  sharply  defined,  crossing  them 
at  right  angles  to  the  band  of  the  forewings.  The  hindwings  have 
also  a  submarginal  row  of  6  or  7  reddish-yellow  spots,  the  central 
spots  being  much  larger  than  the  lateral  ones.  A  variation  in  colora- 
tion, as  in  the  example  figured,  is  seen  in  some  specimens  in  the  pres- 
ence on  the  forewings  of  an  additional  irregular  row  of  spots  forming 
a  band  exterior  to  and  irregularly  parallel  to  the  broad  transverse 
band.  The  notable  feature  of  the  wings  is  the  brilliant  opalescence, 
especially  notable  near  the  body.  The  antenna^  are  clubbed,  giving 
them  a  resemblance  to  the  true  diurnal  Lepidoptera.  The  under  sur- 
face is  lighter  than  the  upper,  with  the  markings  approximately 
repeated  and  rather  more  distinct  save  for  the  yellow  spots,  which  are 
faint.  There  is  also  an  additional  submarginal  row  of  white  spots 
on  the  anterior  wings. 

Larva. — The  larva,  illustrated  on  Plate  IV,  figs,  b  and  c,  varies 
from  '2  to  inches  in  length,  is  white  or  flesh-colored,  and  very 
elongate.  The  head  is  relatively  small  and  pointed,  of  a  light  chest- 
nut, with  mandibles  and  more  or  less  of  mouth  parts  black.  The 
body  is  smooth  and  practically  devoid  of  hairs,  although  minute  ones 
which  have  significance  in  classification  are  found,  as  indicated  in  the 
drawing.  The  prolegs  bear  two  transverse  rows  of  stout  curved 
spines  or  hooks.  The  spiracles  are  very  large,  oval,  prominent;  the 
prothoracic  pair  and  the  pair  on  the  last  abdominal  segment  are 
about  twice  the  size  of  the  others. 

Pupa. — The  pupa  (figs,  e  and  /)  measures  an  inch  and  a  half  in 
length,  is  fairly  robust,  chestnut  brown  in  color,  and  in  general 
smooth  and  shining.  There  is  a  strongly  excavated  crescent-shaped 
spiracular  pocket  on  either  side  of  the  pronotum.  The  prominent 
features  are  the  two  transverse  rows  of  strong  reflexed  spines,  or  teeth, 
on  the  dorsum  of  each  of  the  abdominal  segments  extending  laterally, 
a  little  beyond  the  spiracles.  The  anterior  row  of  spines  is  much 
Stronger  than  the  posterior,  and  the  latter  is  wanting  or  nearly  so  on 
the  two  terminal  segments.  The  tip  of  the  pupa  is  squarely  truncate 
and  ornamented  with  a  series  of  sharp  ridges. 

Egg. — The  egg  (fig.  d)  is  flesh  colored,  white  when  empty,  very 
elongate,  and  witli  live  strong  carina1,  giving  in  cross  section  the 


75 


stellate  figure  shown  in  the  illustration.  Length,  one-sixth  of  an 
inch. 

The  segment  of  cane  showing  the  characteristic  larval  burrow  with 
larva  in  situ  i  fig.  /)  was  drawn  from  one  of  the  canes  sent  by  Mr. 
Jones.  The  pupa  is  formed  in  a  little  cell  similar  to  that  occupied  by 
the  larva  in  the  cane. 

GENERAL  NOTES. 

KKI'ORTKl)  SI  CCKSS  OF   AN    I  NTK<  >I>1<  EI>  LADYBIRD  SCALE   ENEMY  IN 

CALIFORNIA. 

Under  date  of  September  28,  L904,  Mr.  Frederick  Maskew,  Long 
Beach,  CaL,  sent  specimens  of  the  introduced  ladybird  beetle,  Rhizo- 
bius lophantha  Blaisdell,  with  the  statement  that  it  has  very  effectu- 
ally controlled  the  purple  scale  (Mytilaspis  citricola  Packard)  in  the 
Chula  Vista  lemon  orchards  during  the  year,  this  report  being  based 
upon  testimony  furnished  by  Messrs.  Allen  and  Copeland,  extensive 
grower-  and  competent  close  observers,  Our  correspondent's  per- 
sonal experience  with  this  ladybird  was  limited  to  the  lemon  orchards 
pf  Pacific  Beach.  Reviewing  his  long  acquaintance  with  the  pur- 
ple scale  in  the  seedling  orange  orchards  of  Los  Angeles  County,  his 

finding-  were  highly  gratifying.     He  reports  as  follow-: 

Old  purple  SC&Ifl  were  Qbundanl  Oil  most  of  tin-  trees,  but  were  [D  every  in- 
stance dead,  the  eggs  haying  apparently  batched.  The  most  diligent  search 
failed  to  find  any  live  young  scale  on  either  wood,  foliage,  or  fruit  At  the 
time  of  this  investigation,  September  7.  the  parasites  were  found  only  occasion- 
ally, bn1  I  wms  assured  that  they  had  been  rery  numerous  during  the  past  year. 

Knowing  the  vagaries  of  the  different  Khi/.ohiids.  I  am  Inclined  to  look  upon 
these  results  in  Sun  Diego  County  as  an  adaption  to  local  food  supply,  induced 
by  the  absence  Of  other  forms  due  to  extreme  drought  rather  than  a  case  of 

true  parasitism. 

This  same  beetle  is  very  generally  distributed  throughout  Los  Angeles  County, 

and  I   have  often  found  it  in  very  singular  locations.     It  has  attracted  milch 

attention  during  the  past  year  and  lias  been  Identified  by  different  local  "au- 
thorities" as  Rhizobius  toowootnbWt  Soptnnus  marginicollis,  Scymnus  lophnnthtB, 
and  Rhizobius  debilis. 

In  commenting  on  the  identity  of  these  specie-.  Mr.  E.  A.  Schwarz 
of  this  office  furnishes  the  following  notes: 

Rhizobius  tootooombce  Blackburn  is  a  synonym  of  Rhizobius  lophanthne  Blais- 
dell. 

Rhizobius  debilis  Blackburn  is  closely  allied,  but  a  little  larger,  more  metallic, 
and  with  darker  prothorax  and  darker  underside  of  the  body. 

Seym  mi*  marginicollis  Mannh.  is  entirely  different  from  Rhizobius,  yet  is 
frequently  mistaken  for  Rhizobius  lophanthce.  It  is  a  native  of  California,  and 
feeds,  both  as  larva  and  Imago,  on  plant  lice  that  affect  various  fruit  trees  and 
many  herbaceous  plants.    It  never  feeds  on  scale  insects. 


76 


It  is  claimed  that  Rhizobius  lophanthce  was  probably  in  California 
some  years  before  it  was  introduced  by  Albert  Koebele  from  Austra- 
lia, having  evidently  been  introduced  accidentally.  It  was  noticed 
among  the  mountains  north  of  Pomona,  Cal.,  in  1891,  and  in  San 
Diego  the  following  year.  Some  notes  on  this  and  related  species 
have  been  furnished  by  Prof.  John  B.  Smith  in  an  article  entitled 
"  Scale  Insects  and  their  Enemies  in  California,''  published  in  Bul- 
letin No.  6,  n.  s..  of  the  Division  of  Entomology,  pages  46-48.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  effectiveness  of  some  of  these  ladybirds  has 
been  handicapped  by  the  somewhat  careful  methods  followed  by 
growers  of  citrus  fruits  in  California  in  spraying  and  fumigating 
scale-infested  orchards.  Nevertheless,  it  is  extremely  doubtful  if  any 
of  these  ladybirds,  after  having  once  obtained  a  foothold,  could  be 
exterminated  by  fumigation  or  spraying,  as  some  affect  to  believe. 
If  any  species  have  died  out,  it  has  probably  been  due  chiefly  to 
natural  causes,  such  as  insect  and  other  enemies,  and  climatic  condi- 
tions deleterious  to  their  development. 

LOCUSTS,  MALARIA,  AND   MOSQUITOES  IN   THE  TRANSVAAL. 

We  have  just  finished  a  most  successful  locust  campaign.  I  do  not 
know  how  many  swarms  of  locusts  Ave  have  killed,  but  it  will  evi- 
dently run  into  thousands.  In  one  little  valley  about  20  miles  wide 
and  20  miles  long  our  official  force  killed  about  1,500  swarms,  varying 
in  >ize  from  10  by  12  feet  up  to  swarms  occupying  an  area  of  5.000 
square  yards.  In  this  valley  there  were  also  30  farmers  working  on 
their  own  farms,  and  I  would  not  care  to  estimate  how  many  locusts 
were  killed.  From  evidence  given  by  old  residents  and  by  the  natives 
*  find  that  this  has  been  one  of  the  worst  locust  years  in  their  memory. 
They  all  agree  that  if  these  swarms  had  not  been  destroyed  nothing 
would  have  been  harvested  in  this  locality,  whereas  at  present  all  the 
damage  could  be  easily  compensated  by  a  $5  note.  The  Kaffirs  arc 
especially  keen  on  this  question  of  destruction,  and  have  turned  out 
in  hordes  to  aid  the  district  locust  officer.  Our  success  in  this  valley 
is  one  of  the  many  successes  which  we  have  had  throughout  the 
infested  districts  of  the  colony.  We  an4  placing  our  main  reliance 
upon  a  strong  arsenical  spray.  The  spray  consists  of  1  pound  of 
arsenic,  half  a  pound  of  carbonate  of  soda,  1  pound  of  sugar,  and  10 
gallon  of  water.  These  chemicals  are  boiled  together  so  as  to  make 
the  solution  arsenite  of  sodium,  which  is  sweetened  by  the  sugar.  In 
order  to  -how  you  how  effective  this  is.  I  need  only  cite  one  in- 
stance of  a  farmer  who  noted  a  swarm  of  fully  grown  "  voefc- 
gangers  that  is,  grasshoppers  in  their  last  stage  before  obtaining 
wingi — which  was  200  yards  long  and  50  yards  wide.  These  locusts 
were  advancing  down  a   hill   toward  his  "mealies."    (The  term 


77 


u mealies "  is  used  in  this  country  instead  of  corn.)  This  swarm 
was  so  numerous  thai  it  stopped  a  railway  train,  the  latter  being 
obliged  to  go  l>ack-  seven]  times  before  it  could  cross  it.  The  farmer 
sprayed  a  semicircle  about  60  feet  wide  in  front  of  the  swarm,  using 
the  arsenical  spray.  A-  a  result  not  a  single  locust  escaped.  It 
seems  that  the  sugar  in  the  spray  has  a  great  attraction  for  them,  and 
they  eat  their  lill  of  it  to  their  utter  destruction. 

AlS  to  the  prevalence  of  malaria  on  our  eastern  line  of  railway,  we 
have  at  last  succeeded  in  awakening  the  railway  people  to  the  serious- 
ness  of  the  situation.  Next  Tuesday  we  expect  to  start  on  a  mosquito 
survey  of  about  L50  mile-  of  railway,  in  cooperation  with  one  of 
the  railway  medical  officers.  I  -hall  make  accurate  surveys  of  the 
breeding  places  and  the  kind-  of  mosquitoes  found,  while  the  doctor 
will  make  blood  studies  of  the  inhabitants,  including  the  natives, 
horses,  sheep,  goat-,  birds,  and  other  animal-.  We  are  being  fur- 
nished with  three  car-  one  for  living  purposes,  one  for  a  laboratory, 
and  one  for  kitchen  and  dining  room.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  I  think 
that  thi-  i-  the  first  tune  that  any  entomologist  ever  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  conducting  studies  of  thi-  character  under  such  favorable 

circumstances.  C.  B.  Simpson,  Entomologist^  Transvaal  Department 
of  Agriculture )  Pretoria^  Transvaal^  South  Africa. 

THE  CATERPILLAR  OF  WTK  AIM  \  GEMMATTLIS  INJURING  VELVET  BEAN. 

October  s.  L903,  we  received  from  Mr.  A.  Fredholm,  Fort  Drum. 
I'd  a.,  numbers  of  the  caterpillars  of  the  Noctuid  moth. .  1  nticarsia  gem- 
matilis  Hbn.,  found  on  velvet  bean-  [Muerma  utilis).  We  have  also 
received  a  communication  relative  to  the  great  injury  accomplished 
by  this  species  in  Florida  (localities  not  stated).  The  insect-  were 
stated  by  Mr.  John  Parker  to  occur  in  great  number-  and  to  destroy 
the  vines  by  entirely  denuding  them  of  their  foliage.  Mi".  Parker 
thought  th.it  several  generations  were  produced  each  season,  as  they 
appeared  to  be  well-nigh  continuous  breeder-.  The  larvae  are  exceed- 
ingly active,  and  at  th<'  slightest  disturbance  jump  to  the  ground, 
where  they  wriggle  about  rapidly  until  a  place  of  security  is  found. 

Blackbirds  and  rice  birds  eat  them,  but  the  insects  are  often  too 
nimble  for  the  more  clumsy  bird-  and  many  escape.  When,  how- 
ever, the  bird-  are  in  Large  Hock-,  a-  frequently  happens,  they  must 
undoubtedly  be  of  service.  The  "green  sparrow"  was  said  to  be 
the  most  active  as  well  a-  successful  enemy  of  the  larvae.  These 
bird-,  however,  do  not  occur  in  great  number-,  but  one  of  them  would 
evt  in  under  a  vine  and  pick  off  larva  after  larva.  The  larva1  remain 
on  the  under  sides  of  the  leaves. 

The  velvet  bean  i-  highly  recommended  for  winter  pasturage  in  the 
extreme  South,  for  hay.  and  for  soil  renovation;  it  is  also  used  as  a 
nitrogen  gatherer  in  orange  groves.    The  occurrence  of  this  insect, 


78 


according  to  Mr.  Parker,  is  the  principal  drawback  to  the  extensive 
planting  of  the  velvet  bean  in  that  section  for  either  winter  pasture 
or  hay,  as  it  leaves  no  foliage  on  the  plants  to  be  fed  to  stock  or  to  be 
cured,  nor.  in  fact,  vegetation  to  plow  under  for  fertilizing.  For  sev- 
eral years  velvet  beans  have  been  planted,  and  invariably  the  caterpil- 
lars alone  were  benefited.  Many  fields  and  a  small  grove  have  been 
badly  damaged.  In  the  groves  50  to  60  per  cent  of  the  plants  were 
injured ;  in  open  fields  injury  was  still  greater. 

Our  correspondent  had  heard  of  several  complaints  of  this  cater- 
pillar destroying  velvet  beans.  A  Mr.  J.  A.  Willis,  Alger,  Fla.,  had 
had  his  crop  ruined  for  several  year-. 

The  caterpillar  of  this  species  is  long  and  slender,  cylindrical,  the 
last  pair  of  legs  projecting  backward  and  spreading.    The  body  is 

sparsely  coated  with 
rather  stiff  black 
hairs  which  arise 
from  small  white 
button-like  tuber- 
cles. The  head  is 
large,  a  little  wider 
and  higher  than  the 
body,  rounded,  and 
with  a  slight  notch 
in  the  middle.  The 
head  is  orange  yel- 
low or  greenish  yel- 
low   with    a  few 

FlG.  20.— Anticarsia  gemmatilis:  «,  moth;  b,  larva,  dorsal  view;  Small  blackish  dots, 
c,  head,  seen  from  front;  r/,  first  abdominal  segment,  lateral  Xhe  °"eiieral  Color  of 
view— a.  b.  enlarged:  c\  d.  more  enlarged  (original ).  .     .  to  ,  .  „ 

the  body  varies  rrom 

dull  green  to  olive  brown,  which  becomes  yellow  in  inflated  speci- 
mens. It  has  a  number  of  fine  white  lines,  one  dorsal,  two  lateral — 
separated  by  a  blackish  shade — and  a  distinct  yellow  and  white  pair 
along  the  stigmata  or  breathing  holes,  with  a  little  dark  edging  below. 
It  has  eight  pairs  of  legs.  The  mature  larva  measures  about  one 
{Mid  one-half  inches  in  length,  and  one-sixth  inch  in  width.  Alto- 
gether it  is  an  attractive  spceies.  as  will  be  seen  by  the  illustration 
[fig.  -20.  b).  The  character  of  the  head  and  the  arrangement  of  the 
stripes  on  the  >ides  of  the  body  are  shown  at  c  and  <L  respectively^ 

The  moth  is  also  ornamental  in  spite  of  its  somewhat  somber 
colors — dull  brownish  gray  with  darker  brown  shades  arranged  as 
shown  in  the  figure  at  (i.  The  body  is  stoul  and  narrowed  to  the  apex. 
The  expanse  of  the  fore-wings  is  about  one  and  one-half  inches. 

If  the  velvet  bean  should  come  into  general  use  in  Florida  and 
neighboring  States,  the  extermination  of  this  caterpillar  is  apt  to 


79 


become  a  matter  of  considerable  economic  import.  Doubtless  the 
youngest  caterpillars  of  the  first  generation  could  be  readily  reached 
by  means  of  a  spray  of  Paris  green,  arsenate  of  lead,  or  other  arsen- 
ical, and  this  would  have  the  effect  of  greatly  reducing  the  insect 
for  future  generations,  provided  the  work  is  carried  on  thoroughly. 
Or  the  arsenical  could  be  distributed  dry,  as  used  against  the  cot- 
ton worm,  by  shaking  it  from  hairs  fastened  to  each  end  of  a 
board  <>r  pole  and  carried  by  a  man  mounted  on  a  mule  or  horse. 
Later  generations  of  the  caterpillars  will  he  apt  to  he  more  numerous 
,iiid  more  difficult  of  treatment  on  account  of  tin1  difficulty  of  placing 
the  poison  where  all  of  the  caterpillars  will  he  reached. — F.  II.  C. 

\.\  [N8TANCE  OF  COMPLETE  PARASITISM  01  THE  [M PORTED  CABBAGE  WORM. 

A  numher  of  maturing  caterpillars  of  Pieris  rapa  were  gathered 
at  Washington,  August  28,  L904,  to  ascertain  what  percentage  might 
he  parasitized  at  this  time  a-  many  were  obviously  injured.  Sixty 
percent  of  all  that  could  he  found  in  the  Last  stages  developed  para- 
sites of  the  imported  Braconid  Apanteles  glomeratus  Linn.,  all  of 
which  issued  in  masses  of  cocoon-  From  their  h<>M  within  two  days 
after  the  latter  were  taken  under  observation.  The  remaining  cater- 
pillars all  transformed  to  pupa-  and  thereafter  to  perfect  butterflies. 

During  the  first  week  of  September  another  lot  of  these  cabbage 
"worms"  was  obtained  from  cabbage  and  other  cruciferous  plants 
from  our  experimental  garden,  all  of  the  mature  individuals  that 
could  he  secured.    These  were  counted  and  cared  for  in  the  same 

manner  as  before,  and  toward  the  end  of  the  first  week  it  was  noticed 

that  not  a  single  Larva  had  survived.  No  pupa'  were  formed,  and 
therefore  n<>  butterflies  issued,  and  since  a  mass  of  Apanteles  cocoons 
was  counted  for  each  caterpillar  that  had  been  gathered,  a  case  of 
complete  parasitism  was  proven.  A-  soon  as  it  was  noticed  that  the 
caterpillars  had  failed  to  pupate,  both  larvae  and  pupae  were  sought 
for  <»n  the  grounds,  hut  with  negative  results,  showing  that  the  same 
condition  existed  both  in  rearing  jars  and  in  the  open. 

The  COCOOns  of  A /></,,/,/,  .s  glomeratus  were  counted  and  found  to 
vary  from  30  to  35  to  a  mass;  in  other  words,  a  full-grown  cater- 
pillar usually  harbors  about  this  number  of  parasites.  A  secondary 
parasite  was  observed  issuing  from  a  comparatively  small  proportion 
of  the  Apanteles  cocoons.  In  one  instance  the  Apanteles  and  the 
secondary  parasite,  a  chalcidid,  Tetrastichus  microgastri  Bouche,  and 
an  introduced  form  like  the  primary  parasite  and  its  host,  were  in 
equal  numbers.  In  another  case  the  proportions  were  13  to  40.  The 
usual  number  of  secondary  parasites  was  2  to  each  primary  parasite, 
but  in  some  cases  3  of  the  secondary  parasites  must  have  issued  from 
a  -ingle  cocoon. — F.  H.  C. 


80 


SPREAD  OF  THE  MEDITERRANEAN    FLOUR   MOTH   IN  PENNSYLVANIA. 

March  15,  1905,  we  received  specimens  of  the  Mediterranean  flour 
moth  (Ephestia  kuehniella  Zell.)  in  different  stages  from  a  corre- 
spondent in  Montgomery  County,  Pa.  The  insect  was  reported  to 
have  given  no  end  of  trouble  since  it  arrived  in  some  corn  about  a 
year  before.  The  injury  was  of  the  characteristic  form  due  to  the  con- 
struction of  webs  in  the  flour,  in  spouts,  elevators,  and  reels,  which 
prevented  the  stock  from  running.  It  was  necessary  to  remove 
bolting  cloths  from  reels,  and  to  take  out  elevator  belts  and  clean 
them.  The  fact  was  noted  that  the  stock  in  the  elevators  and  reels 
is  kept  so  warm  from  grinding  that  the  insects  breed  nearly  as  rapidly 
in  winter  as  in  summer.  The  insect  was  accompanied  by  the  con- 
fused flour  beetle  (TriboJiu/n  confusurn  Duv.). 

The  recent  very  rapid  increase  of  this  flour  moth  has  been  already 
noted  in  the  Yearbook  of  this  Department  for  1904,  page  603. 

TUSSOCK  CATERPILLARS  IN  FLORIDA. 

March  22,  1905,  we  received  word  from  Mr.  E.  Neve,  Tampa,  Fla., 
that  an  army  of  caterpillars  had  made  their  appearance  in  that  city 
and  in  several  localities  in  the  suburbs,  stripping  oak  shade  trees  of 
every  leaf,  and  spreading  to  other  plants,  even  invading  houses  by 
entering  the  windows,  crawling  over  porches,  and  climbing  walls. 
Some  persons  claimed  that  the  caterpillars  stung  them,  causing  ugly 
sores,  and  it  was  feared  that  the  orange  groves  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
city  would  be  infested.  The  insect  concerned  in  this  case  is  one  of  the 
tussock  caterpillars,  Ilemerocampa  inornata  Bent.,  a  near  relative  of 
the  better  known  northern  white-marked  tussock  caterpillar,  Tlema-- 
oca mpa  leucostigma  S.  &.  A.'  The  soreness  complained  of  was  the 
result  of  the  irritating  action  of  the  hairs  of  the  caterpillars  on  the 
delicate  surface  of  the  skin,  particularly  on  the  neck  and  back  of  the 
hands. 

A  SQUEAKING  SPHINX  CATERPILLAR. 

September  20,  1904,  Mr.  A.  C.  Wharton  wrote  us  of  a  large  cater- 
pillar which  he  had  taken  at  Port  Gibson,  Miss.  It  was  described 
as  over  2  inches  in  length,  of  a  pale  greenish  blue  color,  and  armed 
at  the  posterior  extremity  with  a  rather  stout  spine  curving  back- 
ward. On  capturing  it  with  his  lingers  he  was  surprised  to  hear  it 
emit  a  distinct  sound  resembling  the  squealing  of  a  very  young  mouse. 
The  sound  was  faint  but  quite  distinct  at  a  distance  of  2  feet.  The 
species  was  identified  by  Dr.  II.  G.  Dyar  as  Oressonia  juglandis  S. 
&  A.,  who  states  that  this  species  always  "squeals"  when  seized, 
from  which  fact  it  is  quite  generally  known  as  (he  squeaking  sphinx. 

The  caterpillar  of  the  death's-head  moth  of  Europe,  Manduca  ativ- 


SI 


pos  Linn,  (better  known  in  literature  a>  Sphinx  atropos)^  makes  a 
hissing  or,  more  correctly,  crackling  sound  which  seems  to  be  pro- 
duced by  the  rubbing  together  of  the  mandibles  or  jaws,  each  of 
these  being  provided  on  its  outer  surface  with  a  row  of  prominences 
serving  as  a  stridulating  organ.  The  sound  is  not  unlike  that  made 
by  the  discharge  of  an  electric  -park  or  the  snapping  of  the  finger 
nails  together.  Sometimes  the  -ound  Is  continuous  and  resembles 
that  made  by  winding  a  watch.  The  death's-head  moth  itself  also 
make-  a  sound,  which  has  been  compared  to  the  squeak  of  a  mouse. 
There  has  been  wide  difl'erence  of  opinion  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
these  sounds  are  produced,  and  the  reader  is  referred  to  Tutt's  British 

Lepidoptera,  Vol.  IV.  pages  1H   158,  where  the  matter  i>  treated  in 

detail.  The  pupa,  shortly  before  emergence,  is  capable  of  emitting  a 
sound  similar  to  that  of  the  moth,  although  fainter. 

a  JUMPING  GALL. 

July  6,  L904,  Dr.  Morris  Gibbs,  Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  sent  a  number 
of  galls  found  underneath  oak  trees.  When  received  nearly  all  of 
the  specimens  were  jumping  about  in  a  very  lively  manner  and  to 
a  considerable  height  for  such  small  objects.  Their  motions  are 
considerably  different  from  those  of  the  better-known  jumping  bean, 
which  are  caused  by  a  lepidopterous  larva  similar  to  the  codling  moth, 
and  known  as  Carpocapsa  8altitans.  These  nails  occur  at  the  rate 
of  a  thousand  to  a  single  leaf,  and  are  formed  on  the  under  surface 
of  different  species  of  oak.  They  have  at  first  glance  the  appearance 
of  a  clover  seed,  having  an  average  diameter  of  only  1  mm.  Closely 
examined  they  are  found  to  resemble  a  miniature  acorn.  The  insect 
which  produces  this  gall  i-  a  cynipid  fly.  Neuroterus  saltatorius  Ily. 
Edw.,  a  common  Bpecies,  reported  from  Ohio  to  Michigan  and  Mis- 
souri and  westward  to  California.  It  has  been  surmised  that  the 
peculiar  bounding  motion  of  this  gall  is  caused  by  the  larva  within, 
whose  motion  i>  similar  to  the  leaping  of  the  cheese  skipper  (Piophila 
<<is( ;  Linn.).  A  technical  description  of  this  gall  was  given  by 
Riley  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Academy  of  Science  of  St.  Louis 
(  Vol.  III.  p.  exci).  The  same  writer  also  mentioned  this  species  on 
page  1  L2  of  the  Annals  and  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  XII, 
fifth  series,  L833. 

THE  GREAT  ELM  LEAF-BEETLE. 

( Monocesta  coryli  Say.  I 

During  the  past  two  years  injury  by  this  species,  which  is  ordi- 
narily rare,  has  been  observed  in  Virginia.    September  21,  1903, 
Prof.  William  B.  Alwood,  Blacksburg,  Va.,  wrote  of  damage  by  this 
28739— No.  54—05  m  0 


82 


hectic  and  its  larva  at  Manassas  (Jap.  It  was  feeding  on  rod  elm, 
and  in  one  ease  utterly  defoliated  a  tree  16  or  18  inches  in  diame- 
ter. July  25,  1904,  Mr.  W.  C.  Davis  sent  specimens  in  the  egg,' 
larval,  and  adult  stages  found  on  elms  which  were  being  injured  at 
Rockbridge  Baths,  Va. 

A  good  account  of  this  species,  with  descriptions  of  its  various 
stages,  was  published  in  the  Report  of  the  Entomologist  for  1878 
(Report  of  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  pp.  245-247,  PI.  IV), 
which  includes  illustrations  of  the  different  stages,  with  a  very  brief 
account  of  the  life  cycle,  the  impression  evidently  being  that  the 
insect  was  single-brooded.  It  was  stated  that  "  toward  the  end  of 
July  and  early  in  August  the  worms  cease  feeding  and  descend  into 
the  ground,  burrowing  therein  and  forming  a  simple  oval  cavity 
a  few  inches  below  the"  surface.  They  lie  dormant  therein  through 
the  fall,  winter,  and  early  spring  months,  assuming  the  pupa  state 
but  about  a  week  before  the  beetles  issue.''  The  experience  of  the 
present  year  indicates  a  possibility  of  two  generations  or  a  long  gen- 
eration due  to  a  long  egg-laying  period,  as  the  eggs  received  July 
25  hatched  before  the  end  of  the  month  and  the  first  week  of  August, 
larvae  attaining  full  growth  during  the  latter  half  of  August. 

August  27,  1904,  Mr.  Otto  M.  Von  Schrader,  Charlestown,  Jeffer- 
son County,  W.  Va.,  sent  specimens  of  the  larva,  none  of  which  had 
transformed  to  pupa  when  received  on  the  29th. 

By  request  Mr.  Davis  kept  this  species  under  observation,  and 
August  24  sent  specimens  of  the  nearly  mature  larva,  with  leaves 
almost  completely  skeletonized.  In  regard  to  the  possible  occurrence 
of  a  later  generation  he  wrote  substantially  that  July  12  the  beetles 
were  very  abundant,  but  by  the  25th  they  had  left  many  of  the  trees 
entirely.  In  our  rearing  cages  the  beetles  remained  well  into  the 
first  half  of  August.  At  Rockbridge  Baths  a  considerable  number 
of  egg  clusters  remained,  although  the  number  observed  seemed  out 
of  proportion  to  the  numbers  of  beetles,  fair  evidence  that  the  beetles 
do  not  deposit  more  than  two  egg  masses.  August  1  the  eggs  began 
to  hatch.  Although  the  larva'  were  not  more  abundant  in  the  latter 
part  of  August,  the  damage  accomplished  was  ten  times  greater,  as 
they  destroyed  the  leaves  more  rapidly  and  more  thoroughly  by 
skeletonizing  them.  They  prefer  the  under  surface  of  the  leaves, 
as  do  nearly  all  of  their  kind.  Often,  however,  they  are  found  feed- 
ing on  the  upper  surface,  presumably  when  this  portion  is  in  the 
shade.  They  sometimes  eat  through  the  leaf,  but  normally  skeleton- 
ize it.  Many  leaves  turn  brown  and  drop  without  showing  any  signs 
of  having  been  touched  by  the  beetles. 


83 


Tin:   MALODOROUS  CA RABID.   NOMIUS  PYUM.T-il'S  DE.T.,  IX  OREGON. 

From  time  to  time  we  have  had  occasion  to  mention  this  offensive 
little  ground  hectic  and  it>  occurrence  in  various  portions  of  this 
country,  from  the  Pacific  coast  to  Michigan.  August  20,  1004, 
Messrs.  Woodard.  Clarke  &  Co.  called  attention  to  an  invasion 
in  Portland.  Oreg.,  where  the  insect  was  the  occasion  of  unpleas- 
ant comment  on  the  part  of  those  who  were  >o  unfortunate  as  to 
he  obliged  to  work  in  the  vicinity  of  the  bugs.  Considerable  ex- 
pense was  incurred  in  the  payment  of  plumbers'  bill-  for  efforts  to 
locate  dead  rat-  which  failed  to  materialize,  and  employees  of  the 
firm  feared  typhoid  fever,  and  were  loath  to  remain  at  their  post  of 
duty.  Out  correspondents  stated  that  there  was  no  evidence  that 
these  beetles  were  dependent  on  extraneous  influence  or  disturbance 
as  a  cause  for  their  emitting  the  odor.  They  watched  very  care- 
fully around  a  drain  pipe  on  the  Lower  roof,  and  the  hectics  seemed  to 
emit  the  odor  at  all  time-.  It  was  believed  that  their  presence  in 
numbers  might  he  accounted  for  by  dense  forest  fires  which  might 
have  driven  them  from  the  wood-  and  surrounding  fields,  the  air 
being  at  times  thick  with  smoke.  This  beetle  is  discussed  more  in 
detail  in  Bulletin  No.  9,  n.  >..  of  this  Bureau,  pages  19-53. 

REPORTED  OCCURRENCE  OF  THE  ASPARAGUS  BEETLE  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

During  Deceinher,  1001.  we  received  word  from  Mr.  R,  E.  Smith, 
plant  pathologist  at  the  University  of  California  Agricultural  Ex- 
periment Station  at  Berkeley,  CaL,  reporting  that  the  common 
asparagus  hectic  (Crioceris  asparagi  Linn.)  now  occurs  quite  com- 
monly in  that  State  in  certain  Localities,  and  that  it  Is  becoming  a 
serious  pot.  It  was.  he  writes,  observed  incidentally  in  connection 
with  asparagus  rust,  and  growers  were  satisfied  that  they  had  seen 
the  insect  only  within  recent  years,  and  that  it  seemed  to  have  come 
at  about  the  same  time  as  the  rust,  which  has  been  prevalent  since 
1901  or  1  902.  It  i>  not  as  yet  generally  distributed  over  the  State. 
No  specimens  of  the  species  appear  to  have  been  seen  by  an  ento- 
mologist, hence  some  doubt  attaches  to  this  report. 

Till.  SCIENTIFIC  NAME  OF  THE  PLUM  GOUGER — A  CORRECTION. 

There  has  been  so  much  confusion  in  regard  to  the  scientific  name  of 
the  plum  gouger,  particularly  since  the  appearance  of  our  note  on 
this  subject  in  Vol.  II  of  Ensecf  Life  (pp.  258,  259),  that  it  seems 
desirable  to  bring  the  matter  up  again.  As  long  ago  as  1876  Lc 
Conte  wrote,  in  hi-  Rhynchophora  of  North  America  (p.  104)  that 
Anthonomus  prunicida  Walsh.,  which  was  originally  described  in  the 


84 


Prairie  Farmer  for  1863,  and  redescribed  in  the  Proceedings  Boston 
Soc.  Nat.  Hist.  (Vol.  IX,  p.  309),  was  a  synonym  of  A.  Scutellaria 
Lee,  the  latter  having  been  described  in  1858  (Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci., 
Phila.,  p.  79),  thus  antedating  Walsh's  name.  In  Doctor  Dietz's 
revision  of  the  Anthonomini  (Trans.  Am.  Ent.  Soc,  Vol.  XVIII, 
1891,  p.  191)  this  point  of  synonymy  is  only  briefly  mentioned  on  the 
authority  of  Le  Conte.  Until  the  appearance  of  the  note  in  Insect 
Life  quoted  above,  Henshaw,  in  his  Bibliography  of  Economic 
Entomology,  corrected  this  synonymy  in  accordance  with  Le  Conte's 
views ;  but  in  consideration  of  the  facts  that  Dietz  did  not  see  speci- 
mens of  A.  prunicida  Walsh,  and  that  many  are  still  in  doubt  concern- 
ing the  right  name  to  use,  some  further  elucidation  of  the  matter  seems 
desirable.  We  have  therefore  asked  the  opinion  of  Mr.  E.  A. 
Schwa rz,  custodian  of  the  coleoptera  of  the  National  Museum  collec- 
tion. He  reports  that  there  is  in  the  museum  a  specimen  in  the 
handwriting  of  Walsh  and  from  the  old  Riley  collection,  labeled 
prunicida,  which  agrees  with  the  description  and  specimens  of  Scu- 
tellaria of  Le  Conte  as  accepted  by  systematists. 

Therefore  the  true  name  of  the  plum  gouger  is  Anthonomus  scu- 
tellaris  Lec.  As  to  Coccotorus  Scutellaria  Lee,  the  name  Coccotorus 
is  treated  as  a  subgenus  by  Dietz. 

Mr.  C.  F.  Baker  mentions  an  Anthonomus  Scutellaria  reared  in 
great  numbers  from  wild  plums  in  Colorado  (Entom.  News,  Vol.  VI, 
1S95,  p.  29),  which  may  belong  to  this  same  species  or  to  .1.  hirautua 
Brunei",  recorded,  so  far  as  we  know,  only  from  Nebraska  (West 
Point  )  and  on  a  single  food  plant,  P run  us  pumilo.  Hence  the  note 
by  Bruner  in  Vol.  I,  Insect  Life,  page  89,  really  refers  to  his  new 
species,  hirst/tux.  and  the  figure  there  used  should  be  continued  for 
Scutellaria  in  preference  to  the  two  figured  in  Vol.  Ill  of  the  same 
publication,  neither  of  which  is  quite  correct. 

L'  NI  SI  A  L  FOOD  PLANTS  FOR  THE  SQUASH  LADYBIRD. 

August  20,  1908,  the  writer  found  larvae  of  Epilachna  borealis  Fab. 
about  two-thirds  grown  feeding  on  leaves  of  niuskmelon,  beans,  and 
Ambroaia  artemiaicefolia.  These  larvae  were  kept  in  separate  breed- 
ing cages  and  reared  to  maturity.  They  fed  freely  on  the  plants  on 
which  they  were  found,  pupated  at  about  the  same  time,  and  the 
pupal  period  was  practically  the  same — eight  to  ten  days. 

There  was  n<>  squash  or  pumpkin  growing  in  the  fields  where  these 
larvae  were  found  and  no  cucurbit  in  the  field  where  those  on  bean 
and  Ambrosia  were  taken.  The  muskmelon  field  was  separated  by 
shrubbery  from  the  bean  field. 

It  is.  however,  extremely  doubtful  if  this  species  could  develop 
from  egg  to  adult  on  any  other  than  cucurbits. — E.  S.  G.  T. 


85 


NOTES  OM  OHTHOPTERA  COLLECTED  OX  8UGAB  BEETS  IX  1004. 

During  a  trip  through  portions  of  the  sugar-beet  growing  sections 
of  the  United  States  made  in  May  and  June  and  in  September  and 
October,  L904,  a  Dumber  of  Orthoptera  were  collected,  and  these  have 
recently  been  identified  by  Mr.  A.  N.  Caudell,  <>f  this  Bureau.  Only 
those  marked  by  a  star  ( :;: )  in  the  list  have  been  previously  reported 
on  this  crop. 

Mos!  of  the  Ortlioptera  taken  the  first  trip  were  immature  and 
could  be  identified  at  the  most  only  to  the  genus.  Nymphs  identified 
by  Mr.  Caudell  as  belonging  to  "Mi  lanpplus  atlanis  Riley  or  M.  fern  ur- 
rebrum  DeO."  were  found  at  [aongmont,  Colo.:  Montrose,  Colo.; 
Paonia,  Colo.,  and  Lehi.  I  tali,  doing  considerable  damage  to  young 
beets.  At  Echo,  Oreg.,  several  species  were  captured  feeding  on  beets 
adjoining  an  alfalfa  field  that  had  recently  been  cut.  They  had 
entirely  defoliated  the  beets  along  the  border-  and  in  some  places 
had  advanced  well  into  the  field.  At  qo  other  points  were  grasshop- 
pers -ecu  doing  aerious  injury,  though  several  of  the  beet  growers 
complain  of  severe  injury  in  year-  past 

The  following  is  a  li-t  of  the  species  identified: 

BUpator  minutus  Thorn. :  Olney,  Colo.  I  t  Oct.),  t  $. 

[i/riiroh  tti.r   srinhh  i  i    l'.nill.  :    Lagrande.   Oreg.    (14    Sept.).     1  Spreekels, 

GaL    (20  Sept.  >.  - 

Vkvotettix  ocoidentalis  Bran.:  Spreekels,  Cal.,  s  <£.  39. 

Qomphocerus  olavatus  Tbom. :  Longmont,  <'<>1<>.  (8  June). 

ArpHUk  pseudonitana  Tbom. :  Fairfield,  Wash.  (10  Sept.),  common. 

Chortophapa  vtridAfusdata  De  <;.:  Port  Collins,  Colo.  <i  Oct.);  Longuiont, 
Colo. 

* Dissosteira  Carolina  L. :  Menominee,  Ifich.  (5  6  Sept.):  Daggett,  Mich.,  (5 
Sept.);  Waverly,  Wash.  (10  Sept.  1  ;  Fairfield.  Wash.  (10  Sept.);  Lagrande, 
Oreg.  ;  LYho,  Oreg.  (  !."»  Sept.  1  :  Spreekels.  Cal.  (20  Sept.)— common  at  all  places. 

Uiisosteira  fpurcata  Sauss. :  Waverly,  Wash.,  rare. 

Oatnnula  pelluoida  Scudd.:  Fairfield,  Wash.,  common  on  high  ground. 

Bphragemon  ooUare  Scudd.:  Menominee,  Mich.,  rare  in  beet  fields. 

Trimerotropis  fuliana  Scudd. :  Lagrande.  Oreg. 

Trhnerotropis  11.  sp.  :  Spreekels.  Cal. ;  specimens. 

Trimerotropis  vinculata  Scudd. :  Lagrande.  Oreg.,  Echo,  Oreg.,  Spreekels,  Cal., 
Delta,  Colo.  (  14  June),  several. 
Schistocercu  venusta  Scudd.:  Echo,  Oreg.,  rare. 

•Melanoplus  atlanis  Riley:  Waverly.  Wash..  Fairfield,  Wash..  Lagrande,  Oreg., 
Echo,  Oreg.,  Spreekels,  Cal.,  very  common  at  all  these  places. 

•Melanoplus  bivittatUS  Say:  Menominee.  Mich.,  Daggett,  Mich.,  Fairfield, 
Wash..  Waverly.  Wash..  Rocky  Ford,  Colo.  (29  Sept.),  Fort  Collins,  Colo., 
Olney.  Colo.  (4  Oct),  very  common.  At  Olney  was  also  taken  1  specimen  of 
the  hrachypterous  form. 

Melanoplus  devastator  Scudd. :  Spreekels,  Cal.,  rare  in  beet  fields. 

•Melanoplus  diffcrentialis  Thorn.:  Menominee.  Mich.,  Daggett,  Mich.,  Olney, 
Colo..  Rocky  Ford.  Colo.,  Manzanola,  Colo.  (3  Oct.),  common. 

Melanoplus  femoratus  Burm. :  Fairfield,  Wash. 


86 


*Melanoplus  femur-rubrum  DeG. :  Menominee,  Mich.,  Daggett,  Mich.,  Lagrande, 
Oreg.,  Echo,  Oreg.,  Spreckels,  Cal.,  Olney,  Colo.,  common. 
Melanoplus  fortius  Scudd. :  Olney,  Colo.,  2  $  ,  2  £  . 
Melanoplus  gracilipes  Scudd. :  Spreckels,  Cal. 
Melanoplus  intermedia  Scudd.:  Spreckels,  Cal. 

Melanoplus  lakinus  Scudd.:  Fort  Collins,  Colo.,  Olney,  Colo.,  several. 
Melanoplus  marginatus  var.  pauper  Scudd.:  Spreckels,  Cal. 
Melanoplus  tenuipennis  Scudd. :  Spreckels,  Cal. 

Melanoplus  sp. :  Fowler,  Colo.  (9  June),  Longmont,  Colo.  (8  June),  Fort 
Collins,  Colo.  (6  June),  Montrose,  Colo.  (13  June),  Delta,  Colo.  (15  June), 
Paonia  and  Hotchkiss,  Colo.  (14  June),  Lehi,  Utah  (IT  June),  Byron  and 
Durand,  Mich.  (29  June),  all  nymphs  and  very  common. 

Phcctaliotes  nebrascensis  Thorn. :  Lagrande,  Oreg.,  Echo,  Oreg. 

Conozoa  behrensi  Sauss. :  Echo,  Oreg.,  Spreckels,  Cal.,  common. 

Xiphidium  fasciatum  (?)  DeG.:  Byron,  Mich. 

Cordillacris  sp.  (nymphs)  :  Greeley,  Colo.  (2  June),  Grand  Junction,  Colo. 
(12  June).— E.  S.  G.  T. 

A  MEXICAN  KISSING  BUG. 

Under  date  of  September  12,  1904,  Prof.  A.  L.  Herrera,  Comision 
de  Parasitologia  Agricola,  Mexico,  D.  F.,  wrote  that  a  large  form 
of  bug  commonly  known  in  that  country  as  "  chinche  voladora,"  a 
specimen  of  which  he  furnished  and  which  proves  to  be  Meccus  pal- 
lidipennis,  Stal.,  is  the  cause  of  considerable  apprehension  of  serious 
injury,  especially  to  children  which  it  attacks  by  puncturing  the  skin 
with  the  beak  and  sucking  the  blood. 

The  species  is  a  reduviid,  larger  than  our  native  so-called  "  kiss- 
ing bugs,"  and  is  closely  related  to  Conorhinus,  the  genus  which 
includes  the  cone-noses,  our  most  bloodthirsty  species.  It  measures 
upward  of  lj  inches  in  length,  and  is  five-eighths  of  an  inch  wide 
across  the  middle  of  the  abdomen.  It  is  black,  with  two  triangular 
bands  converging  at  the  apex  of  the  scutellum,  while  each  segment  of 
the  connexivum  or  reflexed  sides  of  the  abdomen  which  border  the 
tegmina  is  variegated  with  white,  resembling  the  markings  of  certain 
of  our  common  turtles.  Its  beak  is  a  little  longer  than  the  elongate, 
pointed  head.  The  insect  is  so  large  and  of  such  formidable  appear- 
ance that  we  would  naturally  expect  it  to  be  capable  of  a  dangerous 
bite." 

HYDROCYANIC- ACID  GAS  AGAINST  THE  BEDBUG. 

March  IT,  1905,  Rev.  Ruter  AY.  Springer,  chaplain,  IT.  8.  Army. 
Fori  Washington,  Md.,  states  that  he  lias  used  the  hydrocyanic-acid 
gas  process  for  the  extirpation  of  the  bedbug  in  the  barrack  buildings 
of  thai  fori  with  considerable  success.    He  reports  as 1  follows : 

The  experiment  was  first  tried  in  a  large  barrack  building,  according  to  direc- 
tions. Several  receptacles  were  broken  in  mixing  the  acid,  but  the  intended 
results  were  perfectly  satisfactory.  Since  then  my  own  residence  was  twice 
invaded,  beyond  the  reach  of  ordinary  remedies.  In  each  case  the  effort  at 
relief  was  perfectly  successful.    The  last  time  a  half  a  dozen  insects  were  cap- 


87 


tared  and  placed  in  n  irlass.  The  glass  was  thoroughly  wrapped  up  In  a  folded 
tbeet,  then  in  a  pair  of  blankets,  and  then  in  a  quilt.  At  the  close  of  the  experi- 
ment these  insects  were  all  found  dead.  As  to  pasting  up  cracks,  I  discovered 
that  inch  strips  of  newspaper,  soaked  for  some  time  in  water,  and  patted  into 
place  with  tii<>  hand,  would  make  an  excellent  gas  check  for  any  reasonable 
length  of  time,  and  afterwards  would  come  off  easily  without  requiring  hours 
of  labor 

SINOLLAI!  IX<  KKASK  OF  "  I. Kill*  "  (>N  TKKKS  OK  THE  "  YELLOW  BOX." 

When  traveling  <>ii  the  train  between  Melbourne  and  Aiacedon,  I 
noticed  a  patch  of  probably  some  hundreds  of  acres  of  land  on  which 
the  tree-  of  Eucalyptus  melliodora  appeared  to  be  covered  with  snow, 
hut  winch  on  close  inspection  proved  t<>  be  an  enormous  number  of  the 
lerp  insect  (LasiopsyUa  rotundipennis  Frogg.),  covering  the  leaves 
so  closely  as  to  give  the  trees  the  aspect  before  alluded  to.  I  can  not 
account  for  thi>  abnormal  increase,  as,  although  the  lerp  insects  are 
common  enough  in  the  forests  around  Melbourne,  never  before  in  over 
fifty  year-  of  occasional  bush  life  have  I  -ecu  these  singular  waxy 
coverings  in  such  great  profusion.  This  season  has  been  a  hot  one. 
and  the  lerp  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  one  species  of  Eucalyptus. 
It  will  be  interesting  to  note  how  far  the  tree-  will  be  affected,  and  I 
hope  to  supplement  thi>  short  note  very  soon. — Charles  French, 
Government  Entomologist  for  I  ictoria*  Australia. 

\  BED  SPIDEB  on  COTTON. 

Under  instruction-  from  the  Entomologist  the  writer  proceeded, 
July  9  to  id,  1904,  to  Batesburg,  S.  C,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  pri- 
mary cause  of  injury  to  cotton  which  had  been  reported  in  that 
section,  whether  red  spider  or  some  disease  of  the  plant. 

On  the  plantation  of  Mr.  E.  F.  Strothers  was  found  a  small  field  of 
cotton  in  which  a  red  spider  was  becoming  common.  The  field  was 
first  attacked,  according  to  Mr.  Strothers,  on  the  south  side,  or  nearest 
the  load,  and  was  found  infested  for  a  distance  of  some  200  or  300 
yards  into  the  held.  Some  plants  were1  already  dead,  while  others 
had  lost  nearly  all  of  their  leaves.  The  leaves  at  first  have  the  pecul- 
iar scarlet  appearance  due  to  the  attack  of  this  mite.  This  coloring 
occurs  between  the  larger  ribs,  near  the  base  of  a  leaf,  and  gradually 
spreads  in  all  directions.  As  the  injury  becomes  common  over  the 
leaf,  the  red  color  dies  out.  giving  place  to  a  dirty  yellow,  which  later 
fades  out,  and  the  leaf  shrivels  and  falls.  Larger  and  older  leaves 
are  attacked  first  and  soon  commence  to  curl:  younger  leaves,  when 
attacked,  do  not  curl  until  injury  has  spread  quite  extensively  over 
the  leaf.    The  mites  also  attack  the  squares,  flowers,  bolls,  and  stems. 

These  mites  were  found  on  five  plantations  in  and  around  Bates- 
burg, and  in  every  case  north  or  northeast  of  water  oak  or  elm  trees 


88 


that  had  been  injured  by  red  spiders  earlier  in  the  year — presumably 
this  species. 

On  Mr.  Cunningham's  place  violets  and.  roses  had  been  injured  by 
this  red  spider,  these  plants  being  in  a  northerly  direction  from 
seriously  affected  water  oaks.  Across  the  road  from  this  place  is  a 
small  piece  of  cotton  which  was  the  most  seriously  affected  of  any 
seen.  A  field  adjoining  the  yard  and  west  of  the  house  showed  no 
injury.  Earlier  in  the  year  this  region  was  visited  by  strong  south- 
erly winds,  and  it  is  quite  probable. that  the  species  living  on  the 
shade  trees  at  that  time  were  carried  into  the  cotton  fields. 

On  Mr.  Mitchell's  plantation,  2  miles  out  of  town,  injury  was 
slight,  but  the  red  spiders  could  be  found  over  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  field.  Other  cotton  fields  on  this  place  and  between  here  and 
Batesburg  showed  no  injury,  not  a  specimen  being  found.  Cotton 
fields  in  all  directions  from  Batesburg  were  visited  and  general  con- 
ditions were  the  same  in  all  cases. 

Several  insects  (such  as  grasshoppers  and  smaller  Hemiptera) 
Avere  found  on  cotton  leaves  in  infested  fields  with  young  red  spiders 
attached  to  them. 

From  material  collected  by  the  writer  Mr.  Nathan  Banks  deter- 
mined the  species  as  Tetranychus  gloveri  Bks. — E.  S.  G.  T. 

SOME  SUGAR-CANE  INSECTS. 

Anomala  semilivida  Lec.  and  Myochrous  denticollis  Say  were  found 
feeding  on  leaves  of  sugar  cane  and  corn  at  Berwick,  Morgan  City, 
Broussard,  Billeaud,  and  Olivier  in  April  and  May,  1904.  At  Brous- 
sard  they  occurred  in  all  the  fields  visited;  at  other  places  they  were 
rare.  At  Berwick  small  red  ants  were  noticed  carrying  living  adults 
of  M.  denticollis  to  their  nests. 

Larvae  of  the  boll  worm  (HeMotMs  ohsoleta  [armiger]  Hbn.)  were 
found  very  rarely,  feeding  on  the  upper  unfolded  cane  leaves  in  early 
spring,  working  downward  from  above. 

The  sugar-cane  borer  (Diatrwa  saccharalis  Fab.)  was  quite  rare  in 
young  stalks  in  the  spring,  but  in  the  fall  some  fields  of  "  Trinidad  " 
cane  near  Berwick  were  quite  badly  infested. — E.  S.  G.  T. 

SOME  OBSERVATIONS  ON  KANSAS  INSECTS. 

We  arc  in  receipt  of  a  communication  from  Mr.  F.  F.  Crevecoeur, 
Onaga,  Ivans.,  in  which  he  reports  a  few  observations  made  during 
11)01. 

During  the  fall  he  observed  (he  twelve-spotted  encumber  beetle 
(Diabrotica  12-punctata  01.)  feeding  on  apples  that  had  been  injured 
by  birds  or  other  insects. 


89 


The  cotton  worm  (Alabama  argUlacea  Ilbn.)  and  a  common  wasp 
(Ve-spa  (jcrunuilcn  Fab.)  were  also  quite  abundant,  feeding  on  apples. 
The  wasp  especially  was  observed  to  eat  apples  so  that  nothing  was 
left  but  the  -kins. 

October  'i  a  curciilio,  Conotrachelus  posticatus  Boh.,  was  observed 
feeding  on  apple. 

May  1~>  one  of  the  willow  weevils,  Itorytonai.s  tnitcidits  Say,  was  ob- 
served in  the  pupa]  stage  under  stones  by  the  water's  edge  along  a 
creek.    The  adult  issued  two  days  later. 

dune  L5  he  observed  a  dipteron,  Ecthodopa  pubera  Loew.,  feeding 

on  a  wild  bee  of  the  genu-  HalticUS, 

A  moth.  Glaphyrid  {IIoimtphij.su)  scstjutstrtiilts  Ilbn..  was  reared 
from  larva]  cases  in  the  nests  of  the  ant,  ( ' rctmist<t<j<ist<  t-  l'tucolata  Say. 

duly  23  a  large  robber  fly  of  the  family  Asilida\  Promachus  rerte- 
bratus  Say.  was  observed  attacking  a  tachinid  fly,  Jurinia  aterrima 
Desv.  The  Ah  lid  mentioned  is  often  seen  attacking  Melanoplvf 
i  tlanis  Riley  and  other  grasshoppers. 

One  of  the  long  horned  grasshoppers,  a  species  of  Orchelimum, 
doubtfully  referred  to  vulgare:  was  seen  September  ID  eating  an  adult 
soldier  beetle.  Chaulioymtthus  pemusylrmi'tcu.s  I)e(i. 

SOME  LOCAL   NAM  I  '.s   FOB  COMMON  [NSECT8, 

During  August.  L904,  we  received  a  number  of  insects  from  Hon. 
d.  I).  Mitchell  for  Identification  and  as  a  donation  to  the  National 
Museum,  with  note-  on  their  habits  and  the  local  names  applied  to 
them.    The  most  Interesting  species  are  as  follow-: 

Pyrophorus  physoderus  Germ.,  from  Jackson  County.  Tex.,  known 
as  the  "hominy  beater,"  a  name  which  it  shares  with  Alaus  <><nl<ihts 
Linn,  and  other  "  snap  bugs"  as  far  north  as  Washington,  I).  C. 
This  specu  -  i-  Luminous,  having  Luminous  spots  on  the  thorax. 

Mo)ic<luht  Carolina  Drury,  the  "cicada  wasp:"  digs  holes  in  the 
sand  and  has  been  seen  killing  cicadas  frequently,  but  no  other  insects. 

DasymutUla  <>r<<i  Blake,  the  "cow-killer  ant;"  a  solitary  species. 

ATCLchnopJwttctttn  its  f<> rruyi licit*  Say.  the  "red  spider  hawk;"  kills: 
spiders  and  buries  them.  An  individual  was  observed  dragging  along 
a  large  gray  spider. 


INDEX 


Acacia  Bp.,  injury  by  Aram  inn*  fuUeri  !   71 

32oloplus  regalis,  on  weeds   <»i 

Ahihnnni  a r<i i / in < ■(  a .  feeding  on  apple   89 

Alans  oculatux,  local  Dame   89 

Ambrosia  artcmisia folia,  food  of  H/iihnfina  horcalis   84 

Anomala  scmilivula,  on  sugar  cane  .-unl  corn   SS 

Anthonomui  wneotitictus,  article  l»y  ('.  M.  Walker    4:i — 1!» 

confusion  with  boll  weevil   43.44 

description  of  adult   47 

larval  stages   4<; 

pupa   47 

pupal  cell   4«'» 

detenu  i  nation   44 

distribution  and  (lest met i veness   44 

effect  of  injury   4S 

extent  of  injury  44,  45 

food  and  feeding  habits   47 

indications  of  injury   4S 

life  history  and  habits   45 

remedial  suggestions   48 

hirsutus,  reared  from  wild  plum   84 

prvnicida = A.  wcutellaria   83 

scutcllai  is.  synonymy  83-84 

Aiiticarsia  gem  ma  I  il  is.  Injuring  velvet  bean,  notes  77-7'.) 

Apantelen  glomeratus,  complete  parasitism  I'icris  rapa   7;> 

.  1  pionu  i  as  spissiftcs,  on  cotton   33 

Apple,  unreported  enemies   88,89 

steins  cut  by  Arami;tns  fnllcri   71 

Apples,  injury  by  '1'a.ronns  niarisoma   43 

Arachnophroctonus  fenrugineus,  local  name   80 

Aramigus  fnllcri.  Good  plants  and  injury   70,71 

Arsenical  spray  against  locusts   70 

sprays  agaln8t  pond-lily  leaf  beetle   60 

Asparagus  beetle,  report  from  California   83 

ornamental,  injury  by  Aramigus  fnllcri   70 

Atropa  belladonna,  food  plant  of  potato  beetle   00 

Aulocara  elliotti,  in  Wyoming  and  Montana   64 

fcmoralnm,  in  Wyoming  and  Montana   04 

Bean,  velvet,  attack  by  Anticorsia  gemmatiUs   77-70 

Bean  weevil,  common,  cold  storage   49 

four-spotted,  cold  storage     49 

91 


92 


INDEX. 


Page. 

Beans,  injury  by  Epilachna  borealis   84 

Qalerucella  nymphaw   58 

Bedbug,  notes  on  remedy   80 

Beetle,  asparagus,  occurrence  in  California   83 

carrot.    (See  Ligyrus  gibbosus.) 

cigarette.    (See  Lasioderma  serricorne.) 

confused  flour.    (See  TrWolium  cqnfusum.) 

cucumber,  feeding  on  apple   88 

offensive  ground   83 

potato.    (See  Leptinotarsa  decemlineata.) 

rice.    (See  Chalepus  trachypygus.) 

rose.    (See  Aram ig us  fuller}.) 

sugar-cane.     (See  Ligyrus  rugiceps.) 

(See  also  Leaf-beetle.) 

Berry  plants,  injury  by  Aramigus  fulleri   70 

Birds,  insectivorous   15,  63,  77 

Boll  worm,  feeding  on  sugar-cane   88 

Borer,  crown.    (See  Hulstea  undulatella.) 

giant  sugar  cane.    (See  Castnia  Hens.) 

larger  corn  stalk,  spread  and  range   71,  72 

smaller  corn  stalk   72 

West  Indian  sugar-cane   71,  72 

Bracon  brevicornis=Habrobracon  hebetor   40 

Brasenia,  food  plant  of  Qalerucella  nympha  w   58 

Bruchus  chinensis,  cold  storage   49 

obtectus,  cold  storage   40 

quadrimaculatus,  cold  storage   40 

Bbuneb,  Lawrence,  article   CO 

Caladium  esculentum,  injury  by  Calpodes  ethlius   5G 

California,  beetles,  notes   75,70,83 

Calpodes  ethlius,  article  by  F.  H.  Chittenden   54-58 

description  of  butterfly   55 

egg   55 

larva   56 

pupa   50 

injury  to  canna   54,  50 

life  history  and  habits   57 

origin  and  possible  distribution   55 

present  distribution   50 

remedies   58 

Camnula  pellueida.  in  Montana   04 

Camphor,  injury  by  Aramigus  fulleri   71 

Canna,  injury  by  Aramigus  fulleri   71 

leaf  roller,  larger.    (See  Calpodes  ethlius.) 

Carabid,  the  malodorous,  in  Oregon   83 

Curpoeupsu  sal  titans,  gall  production   81 

Carrot  beetle.    (See  Ligyrus  gibbosus.) 

Castnia  lie  us,  article  by  C.  L.  Marlatt   71-75 

description  of  stages  _'   74 

records  and  range   72 

systematic  relationship  ,   73 

Castor  bean,  Injury  by  Aramigus  fulleri   71 


INDEX.  93 

rase. 

Caterpillar,   a    squeaking   sphinx   SO 

(  huh  pus  trachypvfftu  at  light   u 

damage  to  sugar  cane   14 

egg   11 

tlying  in  field   13 

size  and  appearance   8 

ChauHogmtthus  pennsylvonicus,  predaceoiis  enemy   so 

Chel&MMM  iridescent,  notes  on   91 

parasite  of  llulxtcn  uml tilntclla   39 

phycitid   30 

China  tree,  food  of  Prntatonm  lii/ata   23 

Chittenden,  P.  EL,  and  k.  s.  <;.  Tms.  article   4<> 

and  F.  C.  I'katt.  article   88 

articles    54,58 

notes    77.  70 

"Cicada  wasp."  scientific  name   SO 

Cigarette  beetle.    {See  LotioeU  rum  werricome,} 

cinn.r  nifocinrtiis  =  l><iitatoiini  lif/nta   20 

rufoiiHiif/iiKit  us  -  l'<  iitntomu  lii/titn   20 

dlatlngolabed  from  r<)it>it<>iii<i  Ugate   23 

CocciHeUa  septCMpunctuta,  feeding  on  potato  hectics   »'»~ 

Ooccotortu  bcutelloriM—AnthonomiM  Bcutellori*   84 

Cold  storage  for  cowpeas.  article  by  .1.  W.  T.  l>nvel   40-54 

cost  of  treatment   58 

expert  menu    ">o 

method  of  storing   53 

results  of  experiments   50-52 

summary   M 

Colorado  potato  beetle.    {See  LeptinotsrsQ  decetnlinetitti.) 

M Concbnela,"  the.    {See  Pentatoma  Ugata.) 

Confused  flour-beetle.    {See  TriboHum  confusnm.) 

Ocmotradhehu  potticatus,  feeding  on  apple   89 

CordillOCriS  occipitalis,  in  Wyoming  and  Montana   64 

Corn,  injuries  by  locusts  «   (11 

sugar-cane  beetle   S.  10, 17 

Corn-stalk  borer,  larger    71. 72 

smaller    72 

Cotton,  injury  by  "  conchuela."    {See  Pentutoma  Hf/ata.) 

heteropterous  insects   33 

red  spider   87 

worm,  feeding  on  apple   SO 

"  Cow -killer  ant."  scientific  name   SO 

Cowpea  weevil,  cold  storage   40 

Cowpeas.    {See  Cold  storage.) 

Cremastogaster  lineolata,  note  on  nests   80 

Cressonia  iiiglandis,  a  squeaking  caterpillar   80 

Crioceris  asparagi,  occurrence  in  California   S3 

Crown  borer,  sugar-beet.    {See  Hulstea  undviatella.) 

Cucumber  beetle,  feeding  on  apple   88 

Cyanide  of  potash.    (Sec  Potassium  cyanide.) 

Cyclocephala  immaxiulata,  damage  to  cane   14 

egg    11 

occurrence  in  fields   14 


Page. 

Ddsymutilla  orca,  note  on  common  name   89 

Diabrotica  12-punctata,  feeding  on  apple   88 

Diatrcca  saccharalis,  occurrence  on  cane   88 

spread  and  range  71,  72 

Dock  false-worm.    (See  Tawonus  nigrisoma.) 

yellow,  insects  injuring.    (See  Taxonus  nigrisoma.) 

Doryphora—Lcptinotarsa   65 

Dorytomus  mycidm,  pupa  observed  under  stone   89 

Droughts,  relation  to  grasshoppers   (11 

Duvel,  J.  W.  T.,  article   49 

Ecthodopa  pubera,  feeding  on  wild  bee   89 

Elasmopalpus  lignosellus   72 

Elm  leaf-beetle.    (Sec  Monocesta  coryli.  i 

red,  defoliation  by  leaf  beetle   82 

Encoptolophus  sordidus,  rarity  in  Montana   64 

Ephestia  Jcuehniella,  spread'  in  Pennsylvania   80 

Epilachna  borealis,  note  on  food  plants   84 

Erax  lateralis,  breeding  note   15 

description  and  habits   15-16 

occurrence  near  white  grubs   12 

Eucalyptus  mclliodora,  increase  of  "  lerp  "   87 

spp.,  injury  by  Aramigus  fuller i   71 

Exoriste  pystc,  parasite  of  Hulsiea  undulatella   38 

False-worm,  dock.    (Sec  Taxonus  nigrisoma.) 

Flour,  effect  of  hydrocyanic-acid  gas   70 

moth,  Mediterranean,  in  Pennsylvania   80 

Flour-beetle,  confused.    (Sec  Triholium  confusum.) 

French,  Charles,  note   87 

Fuller's  rose  beetle,  article  by  Fdk.  Maskew   70-71 

Galeruca  sagittariw—Galerucella  nymphwer  '   58 

Galerucella  nymphwee,  article  by  F.  H.  Chittenden  58-00 

description  of  adult   58 

egg  and  larva   59 

feeding  habits   00 

food  plants  58,  59 

origin  and  distribution  58,59 

remedies   60 

Gas  lime,  treatment  for  potato  beetle   (50 

Germination  of  cowpea,  effect  of  cold  storage  50-53 

.Glaphyria  sequistrialis,  in  ants'  nests    89 

"Grand  Marais"  grass,  food  for  white  grubs   12 

Crape  caterpillar,  social,  feeding  habit   40 

Grasshopper  conditions  in  the  Western  States,  article  by  Lawrence  Bruner.  oo-04 

Grasshoppers  on  sugar  beets,  list  85^80 

Grubs,  white.    (See  Ligyrus  rugiceps.) 

Tfabrobracon  hebetor,  notes   40 

parasite  of  Hulstea  undulatella   39 

Flackberry,  food  plant  of  Pentatoma  ligata   23 

Halictus  Bp.,  predaceous  enemy  '.   89 


INDEX.  95 

Page. 

Ilnnis'nm  a nicrica na   40 

HeliothU  obsoleta,  feeding  on  sugar  eane   88 

Hepterocampa  inomata,  in  Florida   SO 

Hesperotellix  8pecio8U8,  feeding  habits,  etc   61 

Heteropterous  insects  injurious  to  cotton   33 

"  Hominy  beater,"  scientific  name   80 

HuUttCQ  iiiululutcUu,  article  by  E.  S.  (i.  Titus   34-40 

broods   37 

character  of  injury   34,35 

description  of  larva  and  adult   38 

distribution   37.  38 

elm  as  a  possible  food  plant   37 

extent  of  injury   35 

parasites   38,30 

remedies  for   40 

Hydrocyanic-acid  pis  against  bedbug   86 

cigarette-beetle   06 

confused  flour-beetle   00 

Jones,  B.  Howell,  letter  regarding  Castnia  licut  in  British  Guiana  72-73 

Ju  rutin  (ttrrr'uiut,  attacked  by  robber  tly   80 

Kansas  grasshoppers  in  1904;  other  insects    64,88,89 

Kerosene  Rgatnsl  pond-lily  leaf-beetle   66 

Kissing  bug.  Mexican,  note   86 

Knot  weed,  f  l  plant  of  Tostmus  nigrisoma   43 

Ladybird,  enemy  of  scale  in  California  !   75 

seven-spotted   67 

squash,  note   84 

Ladybirds,  effect  of  fumigation  and  spraying   70 

l.nnjtis  ductus,  on  cotton   33 

Lasioderma  serricorne,  remedy,  article  by  P.  H.  Chittenden  and  F.  0. 

Pratt   08-70 

La8i0P8yllQ  rotundipennia,  note  on  increase   87 

Leaf-beetle,  great  elm,  notes   81-82 

pond-lily.    (See  Ualcruvclla  njnnphaa.) 
Leaf-roller,  the  larger  canna.    (See  Calpodes  ethlim.) 

Lemon,  control  of  purple  scale   75 

Leptinotarsa  decemlineata,  article  by  Fred  V.  Theobald   05-08 

duration  of  egg  stage   66 

food  plants   66 

emergence  from  hibernation   (57 

hibernation    66 

outbreaks  in  Europe   0." 

predaceous  enemy    07 

report  of  appearance   65 

status  in  Great  Britain   (57 

treatment  of  infested  land   05 

Leptoglo88US  zonatus,  on  cotton   33 

"  Lerp."  increase  on  "  Yellow  Box  "   87 

Ligyrus  gibb08U8,  at  light   14 

damage  to  cane   15 

corn   7, 15 


Page. 

Ligyrus  gibbosits,  egg   11 

how  distinguished   8 

larval  cells    12 

rugiceps,  article  by  E.  S.  G.  Titus   7-18 

at  light   .  12, 14 

damage  to  cane  in  1004   8 

corn  in  1904   8 

description  of  adult   8 

egg    11 

enemies,  birds    15 

insects,  parasitic    15 

predaceous.    (See  Era.r  lateralis.) 

flying  in  field   13 

larval  cells    12 

life  history   11 

nature  of  injury  to  cane   9 

corn   10 

previous  investigation    87 

records  of  injury   8 

remedies    16-18 

Locusts  in  Transvaal,  note  by  C.  B.  Simpson   70 

Loxostege  stieticalis,  tubes  for  hibernation   35 

Malaria  in  the  Transvaal,  note  by  C.  B.  Simpson   77 

Manduca  atropos,  a  snapping  caterpillar   80 

Marlatt,  C.  L.,  article  _   71 

Maskew,  Fdk..  article   70 

note   75 

Meccus  pallidipennis,  attacks  on  children   8(5 

Mediterranean  flour-moth  in  Pennsylvania   80 

Melanoplus  atlanis,  attack  by  asilid   89 

in  Nebraska   61 

bivittatils,  in  Nebraska   (51 

differentialia,  in  Nebraska   (51 

femur-rubrutn,  in  Nebraska   (51 

infantilis,  in  Montana   (54 

lakinus,  in  Nebraska   01 

occidentalis,  in  Montana   (54 

packardii,  in  Montana   (54 

spp.,  in  Montana   (54 

Melia  sp.,  food  of  Pentatoma  ligata   23 

Mosquito,  food  of  Pentatoma  ligata  23,  y>2 

M€8tobregma  kiowa,  ravages  in  West   04 

Mexican  cotton  pest.    (See  Pentatoma  ligata.) 

Monedula  Carolina,  local  name   81) 

MonoC€8tQ  cor////,  notes  on  81--82 

Mokkill,  A.  W.,  article   18 

Mosquitoes  in  the  Transvaal   77 

Moth,  death's  head,  noise    81 

Sour,  Mediterranean,  in  Pennsylvania  \ —  80 

Mucrma  at  His,  injury  by   1  nt  icarsia  gem  mat  His   77 

.1/ vrgantia  histrlonica,  on  cotton   33 

Muskmelon,  food  of  Epilachna  b<>r<  aiis   84 


INDEX.  97 

Page. 

MwochrOMS  <l<  iiticollis.  on  sugar  cane   88 

M i/tihisffis  citrioola,  coccinellid  feeding  on   75 

Neuroterus  taUitoriua,  note  1   81 

Nightshade,  as  food  of  potato  heetle   06 

Nomiut  ppgnutUBj  note   S3 

Nuphar,  food  of  Gulcnuvlhi  nitmitlnrac   58 

Nympbsa,  food  of  QaleruceUa  nymphaae   56 

Nebraska,  grasshopper  conditions,  r.*<>4   60, 61, 63, 64 

<  )akgall.  cause  of  nioveinents   81 

Oncopcltux  fuxciut tlx,  on  cotton   33 

Orange,  purple  scale  in  California   7." 

Orchelimum  vuhjare  (7),  attacking  hectic   89 

Oregon,  offensive  ground  heetle,  remarks   S3 

Orthoptera  on  sugar  heets.  list     85-86 

Paraffin,  use  against  potato  heetle   66 

Parasitism,  complete,  note  on   7!) 

Paspehm  tUUttatwn,  food  <>f  white  grabs   12 

PegomyQ  vkHna,  mining  In  leaves   35 

rennsylvania.  damage  hy  floor  moth   so 

Pettt&tomo  junip&rinQ,  confused  with  /'.  ligato   20 

lif/ata.  article  hy  A.  YV.  .Morrill   1S-34 

bibliography,  synonymy,  and  distribution   20 

character  of  injury  t<>  cotton   :\o 

confusion  with  /'.  juniperiHQ   '20 

description  of  adult   22 

egg    20 

nymph    stages   22 

distinguished  from  Cimr.r  rufOtimrffiMtUS   23 

egg  laying,  period  of  Incubation,  and  hatching   27 

feeding  habits   25 

food  plants   23 

gregariousness   20 

habits  of  flight   20 

nymphs,  molts,  etc   28 

history  of  species   19 

identification   10 

injury  to  cotton  at  Tlahualilo  in  1903   25 

in  1904   28 

capability   31 

evidence   20 

extent  of.  on  selected  plants   30 

in  the  United  States   33 

time  necessary   31 

other  crops,  possibility   34 

relation  of  mesquite  to  infestation  of  cotton  fields   32 

seasonal  history   24 

suggestions  for  control  and  remedies   34 

sayi.  injury  to  wheat  in  1003   33 

Pepper,  injury  hy  Aramigus  fulleri   71 

weevil.    (See  Anthonomus  wneotinctus.) 

28730 — No.  54 — 05  M  7 


98 


INDEX. 


Page. 

Peppers,  varieties,  injury  by  pepper  weevil   47 

Pieris  rapcr,  parasitism,  note   79 

Piophila  casei,  movements  of  larvae   81 

Plum  gouger,  synonymy   83 

Polygonum  amphibium,  food  of  Galerucella  nymphww   59 

lapathifblium,  food  of  Taxonus  nigrisoma   43 

Pond-lily  leaf-beetle.    (See  Galerucella  nymphcece.) 

Potassium  cyanide,  analysis  of  sample   69 

Potato  beetle.    (See  Leptinotarsa  decemlineata.*) 
"bug."    (See  Leptinotarsa  decemlineata.) 

Pratt.  F.  C.  and  F.  H.  Chittenden,  article   G8 

Pr6cris=Harri8inia   40 

Proniachus  vertebratus,  attacking  tacbinid   89 

Prussic  acid.    (See  Hydrocyanic  acid.) 

Pyrophorus  physqderus,  local  name   89 

"Red  spider  hawk,"  scientific  name   89 

Red  spider  on  cotton   87 

sbade  trees   87 

Rhizobius  lophanthw,  bibliography   76 

predaceous  on  purple  scale   75 

synonymy    75 

Rice  beetle.    (See  Chalepus  trachypygus.) 

Rose  beetle.  Fuller's.    (See  Aram igus  fullcri.) 

Ranter  patientia  or  brittanicus,  injury  by  Taxonus  nigrisoma   40 

Russian  thistle,  food  of  Melanoplus  lakinus   61 

Sagittaria,  food  of  Galerucella  nymplura'   58 

Scale,  purple,  enemy  of,  notes  on   75-76 

Simpson,  C.  B..  notes   76-77 

Skipper,  cheese,  note  on  movements   81 

Social  caterpillar,  grape,  feeding  habit   40 

Sonchus  oleraceus,  food  plant  of  potato  beetle   66 

Sow  thistle,  food  plant  of  potato  beetle   66 

Sphinx  atropos=Manduca  atropos   81 

Spider,  red.    (See  Red  spider.) 

8pUochalci8  torvina,  breeding  notes   40 

parasite  of  Hulstea  undulatella   39 

Squash  ladybird,  food  plants   84 

Sterculia  aceri folia,  injury  by  Aramigus  fuller x   71 

Storage.    (Sec  Cold  storage.) 

Strawberry  plants,  injury  by  Aramigus  fulleri   71 

Strongylogaster  abnormis=Taxonus  nigrisoma   43 

Sugar-beel  crown  borer.    (See  Hulstea  undulatella.) 

sawfly  injuring.    (See  Taxonus  nigrisoma.) 

web  worm    35 

cane  beetle.    (See  Ligyrus  rugieeps.) 
borer,  giant.    (See  Cn8tnia  licus.) 

West  Indian,  or  larger   71-72 

insects  on,  note   88 

Taxonus  nigrisoma,  article  by  F.  H.  Chittenden  and  E.  s.  (i.  Titus   40-43 

bibliography    -13 


INDEX.    9  99 

Tage. 

T axonus  niyrisoma,  description  of  adult   42 

larval  stages  41.  42 

pupa    42 

feeding  habits   4«» 

food  plants   43 

remedy    43 

Tetranychus  ylorcri.  injuring  cotton,  note  ST-SS 

Tetrastich  us  microgastri,  a  secondary  parasite   70 

Texas,  pepper  weevil,  reports  43.  44 

Theobald.  Fred  V.t  article   65 

Thyanta  perditor,  on  cotton   33 

Titus.  E.  S.  G.,  and  F.  H.  Chittenden,  article   4<> 

articles     7.34 

notes  81,85,87,88 

Tribolium  con  fusion,  hydrocyanic-acid  gas  as  remedy   00 

in   Pennsylvania   80 

Vespa  germanica,  feeding  on  apple   SO 

Virginia,  great  ehn-leaf  beetle,  reports  81.82 

Walker,  G  If.,  article   43 

Wasp,  apple-eating,  note   80 

Webworin,  sugar-beet,  hibernating  tubes   35 

Weevil,  common  bean,  cold  storage   40 

cowpea.  cold  storage   40 

foil r-spot ted  bean,  cold  storage  __  4!) 

pepper.     (  Srr  AwthOnONl  Mi  tCflCOtinCtUS. ) 

willow,  note   89 

West  Virginia,  great  elm-leaf  beetle,  report   82 

White  gnibs.      I  Scr  Liyynis  ru;jir>  p$,  I 

Willow,  injury  by  GulrrurrHd  nyntitlwir   58 

weevil,  note  on  pupa   89 

Worm.  dock,  false.    {Bee  Tu.ro  tins  uiffrisotna. ) 

Wyoming,  grasshopper  conditions,  1004   02.03.04 

Yellow  dock,  sawtiy  injuring.    {See  Tu.ronus  tligrisoma.) 

Zelu*  renar&U  on  cotton   33 

U 


